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Mr. Trimble: If the Minister wants to speak, let him do so.
Mr. Spellar: We do not turn a blind eye. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, there was an attempt by some countries to define Northern Ireland as one of those troubled countries—quite separate from any question of recruitment of child soldiers. That would have converted the problem in Northern Ireland from one of law and order to one of a recognised zone of conflict. As he well knows, the British Government opposed that effort successfully. The right hon. Gentleman is being a little disingenuous.
Mr. Trimble: The Minister, quite predictably, misses the point. I am not referring to the matters to which he referred. I am referring to what happens in Northern Ireland, where the paramilitary organisations are, to use his phrase, recruiting child soldiers, left, right and centre, and the Government of whom he is part turn a blind eye—they do nothing about it.
By doing nothing about it, they tacitly come as close to encouraging it as could be. That is why I find it particularly nauseating that the Minister, a member of the Government, turns a blind eye to the problem, and then cites it in a slightly different context with approval. It is quite revolting to see that happen.
I had no expectation that the Minister would take a sensible line. He has resolutely avoided taking a sensible line throughout the evening, but because of the lateness of the hour and the desire of Members to get on, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
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Schedule 3
Mr. Spellar: I beg to move amendment No. 2, in page 18, line 3, at end insert—
'(aa) a statutory officer (within the meaning of section 70 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978) who is exercising functions in the building,'.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment No. 3.
Mr. Spellar: Schedule 3 as presently drafted allows judges, magistrates, coroners, social security commissioners and High Court masters responsible for taxing and for enforcement of judgements to give directions to court security officers, by virtue of the fact that those office holders are defined as "persons in authority" in paragraph 3(6). However, there are other masters of the High Court, for example in bankruptcy, who are not designated as "persons in authority". They would therefore not be able to give directions to court security officers, but might need to do so, for example to direct that a person be removed from a court. Accordingly, amendments Nos. 2 and 3 ensure that all masters and district judges are able to give directions to court security officers.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment made: No. 3, in page 18, line 4, leave out', (c), (d) or (e)' and insert 'or (c)'.—[Mr. Spellar.]
8.29 pm
Mr. Spellar: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
The criminal justice system in Northern Ireland is undergoing a journey of reform that was started by the criminal justice review, and today's debates represent another important step in that journey. The post-review criminal justice environment in Northern Ireland is characterised by a commitment to reform and modernisation. That can be seen not only in the Bill, but in the range of initiatives being taken elsewhere.
The new Public Prosecution Service has two pilots up and running—one in Belfast and one in Fermanagh and Tyrone. The Public Prosecution Service will build on the work of the Department of Public Prosecutions to maintain the highest levels of objectivity, professionalism and consistency in prosecution decisions. Under the remit of the Youth Justice Agency, youth conferencing services have been introduced, which are based on the principles of restorative and reparative justice. Youth conferencing will help young offenders take responsibility for their actions and will allow victims a role in that process. At a local level, the community safety unit is working through community safety partnerships to devise and implement local plans for community safety. That includes programmes targeting burglaries and safety for the elderly.
Given how far we have come since the criminal justice review was published in March 2000, we can be proud of the progress that has been made, but that should not breed complacency. I hope the fact that the Government will bring forward measures to tackle antisocial
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behaviour and hate crime, as we discussed earlier, will reassure hon. Members that we remain committed to providing the responsive, effective and efficient criminal justice system that the people of Northern Ireland deserve and need.
When I speak of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, I do not only mean that it should have coherent and workable procedures. I refer also to ensuring confidence in the system and providing proper levels of accountability. In particular, as the history of Northern Ireland has shown, to achieve effectiveness the criminal justice system must command the acceptance of all parts of society, from whatever tradition or background. The challenges of the past 35 years have created a degree of professional dedication that is, as was rightly said during the debate, the envy of the world. Moreover, the criminal justice system operates in partnership in a way that would be difficult anywhere else. I believe that those factors lie at the heart of the work to improve and develop the system for the benefit of the community as a whole.
We are fostering a culture of continual improvement. Our goal is to develop a system that serves the people of Northern Ireland with fairness and efficiency. The Government recognise that the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 is not the final word. Although the provisions before us stand on their own merits, the Bill builds on the work that has already begun to enhance the openness, transparency and accountability of the criminal justice system. We addressed a number of important issues in Committee and some today.
The Bill is built on a number of fundamental beliefs, which I am sure we share with hon. Members. The independence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of our constitution and one of the principal guarantees of our liberty. It is in turn underpinned by the professional security that judges enjoy. We believe that the provisions set out in the Bill reflect and build on that basic position.
The issue of securing a reflective judiciary was debated extensively. There was concern that doing so would somehow compromise the principle of appointment on merit. We do not believe that that is the case. Merit and reflectiveness are not mutually exclusive. The 2002 Act makes it clear that individual appointments must be made
"solely on the basis of merit".
That said, there may be equal-opportunity issues that have implications for the judicial appointments process. If the Judicial Appointments Commission is successful in addressing these issues, it follows that it should be possible to achieve a more reflective judiciary without compromising the merit principle.
On senior judicial appointments, we had a debate about the Prime Minister's discretion when making a recommendation to Her Majesty the Queen. Hon. Members raised concerns on both sides of the argument—that the Prime Minister would have too much discretion, and that he would not have enough. We believe that we have got the balance about right.
I consider the Bill's provisions for promoting the human rights culture within the Northern Ireland criminal justice system to be another step in the right direction, rather than an innovation.
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The Attorney-General's guidance on international human rights standards will provide an invaluable tool for the various criminal justice authorities to which it applies.
We had an extensive debate on the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to refer cases of suspected police malpractice to the police ombudsman. Some hon. Members were concerned that the Government are stepping away from what the review intended, but in fact we are implementing recommendation 21, which states:
"We recommend that a duty be placed on the prosecutor to ensure any allegations of malpractice by the police are fully investigated."
Besides those clauses, the Bill makes a number of important improvements to bail provisions and other issues that are, perhaps, less challenging. However, we should not lose sight of those improvements: new rules for court security officers; providing barristers with the right to enter contracts; the power to transfer prisoners for the maintenance of good order; extending the protection afforded to prison staff against paramilitary intelligence-gathering; and providing for arrest without warrant for driving while disqualified. Those improvements did not exercise hon. Members much, but they are important, and as such they are welcome, not only in this House, but in the criminal justice community in Northern Ireland and throughout the law-abiding community.
The principle of recommendations from the First Minister and Deputy First Minister for judicial appointments caused some concern, and it raises the question of prime ministerial discretion. The purpose of the Prime Minister's discretion is not to allow him to disregard either the recommendation, if one is forthcoming, of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, or the Lord Chief Justice's advice. It is difficult to conceive of his not basing his recommendation to Her Majesty the Queen on those recommendations to him. It would be wrong to deprive him of all discretion, however, and that was not envisaged in the review:
"responsibility . . . should lie with the Prime Minister",
who should make recommendations
"on the basis of recommendations from the First Minister and Deputy First Minister."
We do not legislate for failure, but we should allow for an unhappy although not impossible situation in which no recommendation were forthcoming from the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, for example. It is extremely difficult to anticipate every circumstance and prescribe a process for it in primary legislation.
I encourage hon. Members to agree that the Bill provides the Northern Ireland criminal justice system with a further improvement on already impressive proposals for reform. The process does not stop here, however, and the criminal justice system must continue to evolve in order to meet the changing needs of society. We will continue to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and the prosecution, and will continue to ensure that the system commands the respect of the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland.
8.38 pm
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