House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

115

House of Commons

Notices of Amendments

given on

Friday 29th June 2007

For other Amendment(s) see the following page(s) of Supplement to Votes:

88-105 and 107-114

Public Bill Committee

Serious Crime Bill [Lords]

Mr Vernon Coaker

202

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  14,  leave out from beginning to ‘for’ and insert—

    ‘(1)
Section 352 (search and seizure warrants) is amended as follows.

      (2)
In subsection (5)(b)’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

203

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  15,  after second ‘staff’, insert ‘or of the staff of the

relevant Director”.

      (3)
After subsection (5) insert—

“(5A)
In this Part “relevant Director”—

(a)
in relation to England and Wales, means the Director of Public

Prosecutions, the Director of Revenue and Customs

Prosecutions or the Director of the Serious Fraud Office; and

(b)
in relation to Northern Ireland, means the Director of the

Serious Fraud Office or the Director of Public Prosecutions

for Northern Ireland.’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

204

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  17,  after second ‘staff’, insert ‘or of the staff of the

relevant Director’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

205

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  21,  leave out ‘a member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘an

appropriate officer’.

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
116

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

Mr Vernon Coaker

206

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  23,  leave out ‘a member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘the

relevant authority’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

207

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  23,  at end insert—

    ‘( )
After subsection (2) insert—

“(2A)
The relevant authority may only make an application for a disclosure

order in relation to a confiscation investigation if the relevant authority

is in receipt of a request to do so from an appropriate officer.”’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

208

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  24,  leave out ‘a member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘an

appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

209

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  26,  leave out ‘a member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘an

appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

210

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  29,  leave out ‘member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert

‘appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

211

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  30,  leave out ‘member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert

‘appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

212

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  31,  at end insert—

    ‘( )
After subsection (6) insert—

“(7)
In this Part “relevant authority” means—

(a)
in relation to a confiscation investigation, a prosecutor; and

(b)
in relation to a civil recovery investigation, a member of

SOCA’s staff or the relevant Director.

(8)
For the purposes of subsection (7)(a) a prosecutor is—

(a)
in relation to a confiscation investigation carried out by a

member of SOCA’s staff, the relevant Director or any

specified person;

(b)
in relation to a confiscation investigation carried out by an

accredited financial investigator, the Director of Public

Prosecutions, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern

Ireland or any specified person;

(c)
in relation to a confiscation investigation carried out by a

constable, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
117

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, the Director of the

Serious Fraud Office or any specified person; and

(d)
in relation to a confiscation investigation carried out by an

officer of Revenue and Customs, the Director of Revenue and

Customs Prosecutions, the Director of Public Prosecutions for

Northern Ireland or any specified person.

(9)
In subsection (8) “specified person” means any person specified, or

falling within a description specified, by an order of the Secretary of

State.”’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

213

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  33,  leave out ‘A member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘An

appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

214

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  34,  leave out ‘a member of SOCA’s staff’ and insert ‘an

appropriate officer’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

215

Schedule  8,  page  97,  line  35,  leave out from beginning to end of line 36 and

insert—

    (1)
Section 362 (supplementary) is amended as follows.

      (2)
In subsection (3)(a) for “Director” substitute “person who applied for the

order”.

      (3)
After subsection (4) insert—

“(4A)
If a member of SOCA’s staff or a person falling within a description

of persons specified by virtue of section 357(9) applies for a disclosure

order, an application to discharge or vary the order need not be by the

same member of SOCA’s staff or (as the case may be) the same person

falling within that description.

(4B)
References to a person who applied for a disclosure order must be

construed accordingly.”

      (4)
In subsection (5) for “(4)” substitute “(4B)”.’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

216

Schedule  8,  page  98,  line  21,  leave out from beginning to end of line and insert—

    (1)
Section 377 (code of practice) is amended as follows.

      (2)
In the heading after “practice” insert “of Secretary of State etc.”.

    (3)
In subsection (1)—’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

217

Schedule  8,  page  98,  line  25,  at end insert—

    ‘(4)
In subsection (9)—

(a)
after “officer” insert “or the relevant authority”; and

(b)
for “he” substitute “either”.’.

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
118

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

Mr Vernon Coaker

218

Schedule  8,  page  98,  line  25,  at end insert—


‘After section 377 (code of practice of Secretary of State etc.) insert—

“377A
Code of practice of Attorney General or Advocate General for

Northern Ireland

(1)
The Attorney General must prepare a code of practice as to—

(a)
the exercise by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the

Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions and the

Director of the Serious Fraud Office of functions they have

under this Chapter; and

(b)
the exercise by any other person, who is the relevant authority

by virtue of section 357(9) in relation to a confiscation

investigation, of functions he has under this Chapter in

relation to England and Wales as the relevant authority.

(2)
The Advocate General for Northern Ireland must prepare a code of

practice as to—

(a)
the exercise by the Director of Public Prosecutions for

Northern Ireland of functions he has under this Chapter; and

(b)
the exercise by any other person, who is the relevant authority

by virtue of section 357(9) in relation to a confiscation

investigation, of functions he has under this Chapter in

relation to Northern Ireland as the relevant authority.

(3)
After preparing a draft of the code the Attorney General or (as the case

may be) the Advocate General for Northern Ireland—

(a)
must publish the draft;

(b)
must consider any representations made to him about the

draft;

(c)
may amend the draft accordingly.

(4)
After the Attorney General or the Advocate General for Northern

Ireland has proceeded under subsection (3) he must lay the code before

Parliament.

(5)
When the code has been so laid the Attorney General or (as the case

may be) the Advocate General for Northern Ireland may bring the

code into operation on such day as he may appoint by order.

(6)
A person specified in subsection (1)(a) or (b) or (2)(a) or (b) must

comply with a code of practice which is in operation under this section

in the exercise of any function he has under this Chapter to which the

code relates.

(7)
If such a person fails to comply with any provision of such a code of

practice the person is not by reason only of that failure liable in any

criminal or civil proceedings.

(8)
But the code of practice is admissible in evidence in such proceedings

and a court may take account of any failure to comply with its

provisions in determining any question in the proceedings.

(9)
The Attorney General or (as the case may be) the Advocate General

for Northern Ireland may from time to time revise a code previously

brought into operation under this section; and the preceding provisions

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
119

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

of this section apply to a revised code as they apply to the code as first

prepared.

(10)
In this section references to the Advocate General for Northern Ireland

are to be read, before the coming into force of section 27(1) of the

Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (c. 26), as references to the

Attorney General for Northern Ireland.”’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

219

Schedule  8,  page  98,  line  32,  after ‘staff’, insert ‘or the relevant Director’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

220

Schedule  8,  page  99,  line  3,  after ‘provisions)’, insert ‘—

(a)
after the entry for production order insert—

“relevant authority: section 357(7) to (9)

relevant Director: section 352(5A)”; and

(b)
’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

221

Schedule  8,  page  99,  line  4,  at end insert—

‘114A
After section 449 (pseudonyms) insert—

“449A
Staff of relevant Directors: pseudonyms

(1)
This section applies to a member of the staff of the relevant Director

if—

(a)
the member is to exercise a function as a member of that staff

under, or in relation to, Part 8; and

(b)
it is necessary or expedient for the purpose of exercising that

function for the member of staff to identify himself by name.

(2)
The relevant Director may direct that such a member of staff may for

that purpose identify himself by means of a pseudonym.

(3)
For the purposes of any proceedings or application under this Act, a

certificate signed by the relevant Director which sufficiently identifies

the member of staff by reference to the pseudonym is conclusive

evidence that that member of staff is authorised to use the pseudonym.

(4)
In any proceedings or application under this Act a member of the staff

of the relevant Director in respect of whom a direction under this

section is in force must not be asked (and if asked is not required to

answer) any question which is likely to reveal his true identity.

(5)
The relevant Director may not delegate the exercise of his functions

under this section or otherwise authorise another person to exercise

those functions on his behalf.

(6)
In this section “relevant Director” has the meaning given by section

352(5A).”’.

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
120

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

Mr Vernon Coaker

222

Schedule  8,  page  99,  line  4,  at end insert—

‘114B (1)
Section 459 (orders and regulations) is amended as follows.

      (2)
In subsection (3) after “instrument” insert “(other than the power of the

Advocate General for Northern Ireland to make an order under section

377A(5) which is exercisable by statutory rule for the purposes of the Statutory

Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1573 (N.I.12)))”.

      (3)
In subsection (4)(a) after “377(4)” insert “, 377A(5)”.

      (4)
After subsection (6)(a) insert—

“(aa)
by the Attorney General or the Advocate General for Northern

Ireland under section 377A(5) unless a draft of the order has

been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of

each House;”.

      (5)
After subsection (7) insert—

“(8)
In this section references to the Advocate General for Northern Ireland

are to be read, before the coming into force of section 27(1) of the

Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (c. 26), as references to the

Attorney General for Northern Ireland.”’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

223

Schedule  8,  page  100,  leave out lines 6 to 11.

Mr Vernon Coaker

224

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  12,  leave out ‘References’ and insert ‘The reference’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

225

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  13,  leave out ‘are’ and insert ‘is’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

226

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  14,  leave out ‘references’ and insert ‘a reference’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

227

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  31,  after ‘Part 5’, insert ‘or 8’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

228

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  34,  after ‘Part 5’, insert ‘or 8’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

229

Schedule  8,  page  100,  line  37,  after ‘Part 5’, insert ‘or 8’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

230

Schedule  8,  page  101,  line  31,  leave out from beginning to end of line 32 and

insert—

Notices of Amendments: 29th June 2007
121

Serious Crime Bill [Lords], continued

    (1)
Section 443 (enforcement in different parts of the United Kingdom) is

amended as follows.

      (2)
In subsection (3)(a) for “and the Director” substitute “, SOCA and the relevant

Director”.

      (3)
After subsection (4) insert—

“(5)
In this section “relevant Director” has the meaning given by section

352(5A).”’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

231

Schedule  8,  page  101,  line  36,  after ‘SOCA’, insert ‘, the Director of Public

Prosecutions, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, the Director of

Revenue and Customs Prosecutions’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

232

Schedule  8,  page  103,  line  34,  after ‘Part 5’, insert ‘or 8’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

233

Schedule  8,  page  103,  line  35,  after ‘conduct’, insert ‘, civil recovery investigations

and disclosure orders in relation to confiscation investigations’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

234

Schedule  8,  page  104,  line  15,  after ‘Part 5’, insert ‘or 8’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

235

Schedule  8,  page  104,  line  16,  after ‘conduct’, insert ‘, civil recovery investigations

and disclosure orders in relation to confiscation investigations’.

Mr Vernon Coaker

236

Schedule  8,  page  105,  line  8,  at end insert—

‘Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47)

    (1)
In section 75(4A) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) (statutory duty on

public authorities) after “offences” insert “or any of the functions conferred on

him by, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29)

(civil recovery of the proceeds etc. of unlawful conduct, civil recovery

investigations and disclosure orders in relation to confiscation

investigations)”.

      (2)
After section 76(10) of that Act (discrimination by public authorities) insert—

“(11)
The reference in subsection (1) to the functions of the Director of

Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland does not include any of the

functions conferred on him by, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 of the

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (civil recovery of the proceeds etc.

of unlawful conduct, civil recovery investigations and disclosure

orders in relation to confiscation investigations).”’.