Vote Bundle Text (930520-15)

Amendments proposed to the Criminal Justice Bill, As Amended - continued	House of Commons

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Joint liability for harming children

Dr Desmond Turner
Vera Baird
Mr Chris Mullin

NC25

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) When a child aged under sixteen is killed, suffers serious injury or suffers injury from which it later dies, whilst it is with two or more people, at least one of whom has responsibility for it, and the death or injury must have been caused by one or more than one of those people, all of those people shall be guilty of an offence of failing to protect the child and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

(2) It is a defence to such a charge if a defendant shows that he did all that it was reasonably practical to do, in the circumstances, at the time of the death or injury, to prevent the death or serious injury.

(3) In a trial for such an offence, any decision whether or not there is a case for any defendant to answer shall not be taken by the judge before the end of the defence case.'.

As an Amendment to Dr Desmond Turner's proposed New Clause (NC25) (Joint liability for harming children):

Mr Douglas Hogg

(a)

Line 11, leave out subsection (3).

Audio and video recording of interviews of suspected terrorists

Mr Chris Mullin

NC56

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) (detention) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph 3 (audio and video recording of interviews)—

(a)	Sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and 4(a) are omitted.

(b)	In sub-paragraph (1)(b) from "code of practice" to the end of the sub-paragraph there is substituted "issued under Section 60 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Tape recording of interviews)".

(c)	In sub-paragraph (4)(b) from "code of practice" to the end of the sub-paragraph there is substituted "issued under Section 60A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Visual recording of interviews)".

(3) Paragraph 4 is omitted.'.

Accountability to local authority and public meeting

Simon Hughes
David Heath
Annette Brooke

NC57

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the Chief Constable, the Chief Probation Officer, the local representative of the Director-General of the Prison Service and the local Courts Service manager to make an annual report to the principal local authority of the area and to account for the performance of their organisation before a public meeting chaired by the mayor or chairman of the council or his nominee.'.

Victims and witnesses services

Simon Hughes
Mr David Heath
Annette Brooke

NC58

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the Lord Chancellor's Department to ensure adequate victims and witnesses services in each criminal justice area.'.

NEW SCHEDULES

Mr Secretary Blunkett

NS1

To move the following Schedule:—

'Criminal record certificates: amendments of Part 5 of Police Act 1997

The Police Act 1997 (c.50) is amended as follows.

In section 112 (criminal conviction certificates), in subsection (1)(a), after "prescribed" there is inserted "manner and".

(1)

Section 113 (criminal record certificates) is amended as follows.

(2)	In subsection (1)—

(3)	After subsection (4) there is inserted—

(a)	in his opinion the certificate is required for a purpose prescribed under subsection (2) of that section,

(b)	the registered person provides him with the statement required by subsection (2) of that subsection, and

(c)	the applicant consents and pays to the Secretary of State the amount (if any) by which the fee payable in relation to an application under section 115 exceeds the fee paid in relation to the application under this section.".

(1)

Section 115 (enhanced criminal record certificates) is amended as follows.

(2)	In subsection (1)—

(3)	In subsection (2), for paragraphs (a) to (c) there is substituted "for such purposes as may be prescribed under this subsection".

(4)	Subsections (3) to (5) and subsections (6C) to (6E) are omitted.

(5)	After subsection (9) there is inserted—

(9B) Where by virtue of subsection (9A) the Secretary of State treats an application under this section as an application under section 113, he must refund to the applicant the amount (if any) by which the fee paid in relation to the application under this section exceeds the fee payable in relation to an application under section 113."

In section 116 (enhanced criminal record certificates: judicial appointments and Crown employment), in subsection (2)(b), for the words from "to which" onwards there is substituted "of such description as may be prescribed".

(1)

Section 120 (registered persons) is amended as follows.

(2)	For subsection (2) there is substituted—

(a)	applies to him in writing to be registered,

(b)	satisfies the conditions in subsections (4) to (6), and

(c)	has not in the period of two years ending with the date of the application been removed from the register under section 120A or 120AA."

(3)	Subsection (3) is omitted.

After section 120 there is inserted—

"120ZA Regulations about registration.

(a)	the payment of fees,

(b)	the information to be included in the register,

(c)	the registration of any person to be subject to conditions,

(d)	the nomination by—

(i)	a body corporate or unincorporate, or

(ii)	a person appointed to an office by virtue of any enactment,

of the individuals authorised to act for it or, as the case may be, him in relation to the countersigning of applications under this Part, and

(e)	the refusal by the Secretary of State, on such grounds as may be specified in or determined under the regulations, to accept or to continue to accept the nomination of a person as so authorised.

(a)	for the registration or continued registration of any person to be subject to prescribed conditions or, if the regulations so provide, such conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit, and

(b)	for the Secretary of State to vary or revoke those conditions.

(a)	requiring a registered person, before he countersigns an application at an individual's request, to verify the identity of that individual in the prescribed manner,

(b)	requiring an application under section 113 or 115 to be transmitted by electronic means to the Secretary of State by the registered person who countersigns it, and

(c)	requiring a registered person to comply with any code of practice for the time being in force under section 122."

At the end of the sidenote to section 120A (refusal and cancellation of registration) there is inserted "on grounds related to disclosure".

After section 120A there is inserted—

(2) Subsection (3) applies where a registered person—

(a)	is, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, no longer likely to wish to countersign applications under this Part,

(b)	has, in any period of twelve months during which he was registered, countersigned fewer applications under this Part than the minimum number specified in respect of him by regulations under subsection (1), or

(c)	has failed to comply with any condition of his registration.

(a)	suspend that person's registration for such period not exceeding 6 months as the Secretary of State thinks fit, or

(b)	remove that person from the register.

(2) Every such notice must—

(a)	give the Secretary of State's reasons for proposing to cancel or suspend the registration, and

(b)	inform the person concerned of his right under subsection (3) to make representations.

(4) After considering such representations, the Secretary of State must give the registered person written notice—

(a)	that at the end of a further period of six weeks beginning with the date of service, the person's registration will be cancelled or suspended, or

(b)	that he does not propose to take any further action.

(6) Subsection (1) does not prevent the Secretary of State from imposing on the registered person a lesser sanction than that specified in the notice under that subsection.

(7) Any notice under this section that is required to be given in writing may be given by being transmitted electronically.

(8) This section does not apply where—

(a)	the Secretary of State is satisfied, in the case of a registered person other than a body, that the person has died or is incapable, by reason of physical or mental impairment, of countersigning applications under this Part, or

(b)	the registered person has requested to be removed from the register.

After section 122 there is inserted—

(2) A function is relevant for the purposes of subsection (1) if it does not consist of a power—

(a)	to make regulations, or

(b)	to publish or revise a code of practice or to lay any such code before Parliament.

After section 124 (offences: disclosure) there is inserted—

(a)	to another person engaged in the discharge of those functions,

(b)	to the chief officer of a police force in connection with a request under this Part to provide information to the Secretary of State, or

(c)	to an applicant or registered person who is entitled under this Part to the information disclosed to him.

(a)	is an offence under subsection (1), or

(b)	would be an offence under subsection (1) but for subsection (3)(a), (d) or (e),

the person to whom the information is disclosed commits an offence if he discloses it to any other person.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a disclosure of information which is made—

(a)	with the written consent of the person to whom the information relates,

(b)	to a government department,

(c)	to a person appointed to an office by virtue of any enactment,

(d)	in accordance with an obligation to provide information under or by virtue of any enactment, or

(e)	for some other purpose specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

In section 125 (regulations)—