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Guidance and regulations regarding crime and disorder matters
Hazel Blears
NC9
*To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State may issue guidance to—
| (a) | local authorities in England, |
| (b) | members of those authorities, and |
| (c) | crime and disorder committees of those authorities, |
with regard to the exercise of their functions under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters).
(2) The National Assembly for Wales, after consulting the Secretary of State, may issue guidance to—
| (a) | local authorities in Wales, |
| (b) | members of those authorities, and |
| (c) | crime and disorder committees of those authorities, |
with regard to the exercise of their functions under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters).
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision supplementing that made by section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters) in relation to local authorities in England.
(4) The Secretary of State, after consulting the National Assembly for Wales, may by regulations make provision supplementing that made by section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters) in relation to local authorities in Wales.
(5) Regulations under subsection (3) or (4) may in particular make provision—
| (a) | as to the co-opting of additional members to serve on the crime and disorder committee of a local authority; |
| (b) | as to the frequency with which the power mentioned in section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters)(1)(a) is to be exercised; |
| (c) | requiring information to be provided to the crime and disorder committee by the responsible authorities and the co-operating persons and bodies; |
| (d) | imposing restrictions on the provision of information to the crime and disorder committee by the responsible authorities and the co-operating persons and bodies; |
| (e) | requiring officers or employees of the responsible authorities and the co-operating persons and bodies to attend before the crime and disorder committee to answer questions; |
| (f) | specifying how a person is to refer a matter to a member of a local authority, or to the executive of a local authority, under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters)(3) or (4); |
| (g) | specifying the periods within which— |
| (i) | a member of a local authority is to deal with a request under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters)(3); |
| (ii) | the executive of a local authority is to deal with a matter referred under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters)(4); |
| (iii) | the crime and disorder committee is to deal with a matter referred as mentioned in section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters)(6); |
| (iv) | the responsible authorities and the co-operating persons and bodies are to consider and respond to a report or recommendations made under or by virtue of section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters). |
(6) Regulations made by virtue of subsection (5)(a) may provide for a person co-opted to serve as a member of a crime and disorder committee to have the same entitlement to vote as any other member.
(7) In this section "local authority", "crime and disorder committee", "responsible authorities" and "co-operating persons and bodies" have the same meaning as in section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters).'.
Joint crime and disorder committees
Hazel Blears
NC10
*To move the following Clause:—
'In section 5 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) (authorities responsible for crime and disorder strategies), after subsection (1B) there is inserted—
"(1C) An order under subsection (1A) above—
| (a) | may require the councils for the local government areas in question to appoint a joint committee of those councils (the "joint crime and disorder committee") and to arrange for crime and disorder scrutiny functions in relation to any (or all) of those councils to be exercisable by that committee; |
| (b) | may make provision applying any of the relevant provisions, with or without modifications, in relation to a joint crime and disorder committee. |
(1D) In subsection (1C)—
"crime and disorder scrutiny functions", in relation to a council, means functions that are, or, but for an order under subsection (1A) above, would be, exercisable by the crime and disorder committee of the council under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters) of the Police and Justice Act 2006 (local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters);
"the relevant provisions" means—
| (a) | section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters) of the Police and Justice Act 2006; |
| (b) | section (Guidance and regulations regarding crime and disorder matters) of that Act and any regulations made under that section; |
| (c) | Schedule (Further provision about crime and disorder committees of certain local authorities) to that Act; |
| (d) | section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000."'. |
Forfeiture of indecent photographs of children: Northern Ireland
Hazel Blears
NC11
*To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I.1978/1047 (N.I.17)) is amended as follows.
(2) In Article 4 (entry, search and seizure), for paragraph (2) there is substituted—
"(2) In this Article "premises" has the same meaning as in the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (S.I.1989/1341 (N.I.12)) (see Article 25 of that Order)."
(3) For Articles 5 and 6 (forfeiture) there is substituted—
"5 Forfeiture
The Schedule to this Order makes provision about the forfeiture of indecent photographs and pseudo-photographs."
(4) At the end of the Order there is inserted the Schedule set out in Schedule (Schedule to be inserted into the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978).
(5) The amendment made by subsection (2) has effect only in relation to warrants granted under Article 4(1) of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 after the commencement of that subsection.
(6) The amendments made by subsections (3) and (4) and Schedule (Schedule to be inserted into the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978) have effect whether the property in question was lawfully seized before or after the coming into force of those provisions.
This is subject to subsection (7).
(7) Those amendments do not have effect in a case where the property has been brought before a resident magistrate under Article 5(1) of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 before the coming into force of those provisions.'.
REMAINING NEW SCHEDULES
Hazel Blears
NS1
To move the following Schedule:—
'Further provision about crime and disorder committees of certain local authorities
| 1 | (1) | This Schedule applies in relation to a local authority that is not operating executive arrangements under Part 2 of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22). |
| (2) | In this Schedule "local authority" and "crime and disorder committee" have the same meaning as in section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters). |
| 2 | (1) | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority may not discharge any functions other than its functions under section (Local authority scrutiny of crime and disorder matters) or this Schedule. |
| (2) | In the case of a committee of a local authority that discharges functions other than those mentioned in sub-paragraph (1), the reference in that sub-paragraph to the crime and disorder committee is a reference to that committee in its capacity as crime and disorder committee. |
| 3 | (1) | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority— |
(a) may appoint one or more sub-committees, and
(b) may arrange for the discharge of any of its functions by any such sub-committee.
| (2) | A sub-committee of the crime and disorder committee may not discharge any functions other than those conferred on it under sub-paragraph (1)(b). |
| 4 | | A local authority shall make arrangements— |
(a) for enabling a member of the crime and disorder committee of the authority to ensure that a matter that is relevant to the functions of the committee is included in the agenda for, and is discussed at, a meeting of the committee, and
(b) for enabling a member of a sub-committee of such a committee to ensure that a matter that is relevant to the functions of the sub-committee is included in the agenda for, and is discussed at, a meeting of the sub-committee.
| 5 | | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority, or a sub-committee of such a committee, may include persons who are not members of the authority, but (subject to section (Guidance and regulations regarding crime and disorder matters)(6)) such persons are not entitled to vote, at a meeting of such a committee or sub-committee, on any question that falls to be decided at that meeting. |
| 6 | (1) | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority or a sub-committee of such a committee— |
(a) may require members or officers of the authority to attend before it to answer questions;
(b) may invite other persons to attend meetings of the committee.
| (2) | A member or officer of a local authority shall comply with any requirement made under sub-paragraph (1)(a). |
| (3) | A person is not obliged by sub-paragraph (2) to answer any question that he would be entitled to refuse to answer in or for the purposes of proceedings in a court in England and Wales. |
| 7 | | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority, or a sub-committee of such a committee, is to be treated as a committee or sub-committee of a principal council for the purposes of Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) (access to meetings and documents of certain authorities, committees and sub-committees). |
| 8 | (1) | The crime and disorder committee of a local authority, or a sub-committee of such a committee, is to be treated as a body to which section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42) (duty to allocate seats to political groups) applies. |
| (2) | Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to the crime and disorder committee of the Common Council of the City of London (or to a sub-committee of that committee). |
| 9 | | Subsections (2) and (5) of section 102 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) (appointment of committees) apply to the crime and disorder committee of a local authority, or a sub-committee of such a committee, as they apply to a committee appointed under that section.'. |
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