Letter to Mr Gerald Howarth MP from the
Minister
During the Select Committee sessions between
20 March and 30 March 2006 you raised a number of questions upon
which I agreed to give you a written response. Where I have not
already provided you with a response I do so below.
First, I agreed to write to you on new clause
13 and New Schedule 1 which are the Criminal Cases Review Commission
(CCRC) provisions. You asked about the workload of the CCRC and
whether there would be a fast track provision for the military
cases.
The CCRC already has internal rules for the
prioritisation of cases which permit special account to be taken
of, for example, whether an appellant is in custody and the impact
of the case on the operational effectiveness of the criminal justice
system. The CCRC are clear that in the future this term would
include the military criminal justice system, but have indicated
that they would be prepared to state that explicitly. The CCRC
have indicated that they would be happy to receive representations
on prioritisation from the Services on any given case. There is
therefore no need for a separate channel for military cases. Importantly,
the CCRC is undertaking a significant programme of work to remove
the current backlog and is confident that this will have been
achieved by the time of Armed Forces Bill implementation.
Secondly, you asked about Health and Safety
legislation and how it applies to the MOD.
The MOD, the Armed Forces, and all Service and
civilian personnel are covered by and required to comply with
Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974 (and its equivalent in
Northern Ireland). Outside the United Kingdom, where the legislation
does not apply, the Secretary of State by policy extends equivalent
standards to all Service bases overseas and to Her Majesty's ships
and aircraft outside UK territorial waters or airspace.
Although the MOD itself has Crown Immunity from
prosecution, individual members of MOD staff and service personnel
can be prosecuted under Health and Safety legislation.
April 2006
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