Schedule
14
Schedule
to the Street Offences Act
1959
Question
proposed, That this schedule be the Fourteenth schedule to the
Bill.
The
Chairman:
Before I call the hon. Member
for Enfield, Southgate, I advise the Committee that we have just three
further sittings in Committee unless the programme motion is amended.
It is not the duty or responsibility of the Chairman to enforce the
programme motion, but I am well aware from the amendment paper and the
Bill that some important matters will still
require lengthy debate. It may be necessary for members of the Committee
to show a little self-discipline. They should not not deal with
matters, but should perhaps be a little more succinct in their comments
than they might otherwise be.
Mr.
Burrowes:
This is an opportunity to address the issue of
enforcement when the rehabilitation order is breached. I understand
that the breach will not be a criminal offence in itself, but that a
person may be subject to the same sanctions as those that apply to the
crime. Will the Minister provide some reassurance for people who are
concerned that a failure to attend a meeting will—indeed,
must—lead automatically to the supervisor beginning proceedings
against the offender? Will their discretion be properly used when
dealing with people who often have chaotic lifestyles and may miss a
date or be late for a meeting?
The concern
is that the detention could last for up to 72 hours and that the cycle
of orders may involve a failure-to-attend order, a further order and
then prison. Will the Minister explain the procedure that the court
will adopt when a breach occurs? Will the offender be entitled to legal
representation and a representation order, and will the procedures be
based on the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 and the court’s
rules?
Finally, will
the Minister address the issue of adjournments of those hearings, which
could lead to the offender being released immediately or remanded in
custody? Is there not a risk that the schedule will perpetuate the
situation for those who remain in prison, despite the Minister’s
remarks that that is what he wishes to
avoid?
Mr.
Coaker:
To reassure the hon. Member for Enfield,
Southgate, our intention is that the measure should be very much a last
resort, not something that is used as a matter of course. We felt,
however, that it was important to include in the schedule a sanction
that could be used should someone completely fail to comply with the
rehabilitation order. That is the point of including the
provision.
Failure to
attend without a reasonable excuse will constitute a breach, so the
Bill states that if the person who is subject to the rehabilitation
order can demonstrate that it was reasonable for them to have missed
the meeting, the supervisor will have to take that into account. When
the individual fails to comply with the order, the supervisor will be
required to inform the
court—either the court where the order was made, or the court in
the area to which the person who is subject to the order has
moved. The
magistrates court will not then have to issue a summons, but it will be
able to do so if it chooses. The supervisor will be required to report
to the court any failure to meet the requirements of the order,
alongside an assessment of the individual’s likely future
compliance, and the court will then instigate breach proceedings. We do
not wish the 72 hours provision to be used often, but at the end of the
day it is important to make available a sanction should somebody
knowingly, deliberately and wilfully choose to ignore the fact that
they are subject to an order. I do not believe that it will be used in
many circumstances; I think it will be used in very
few.
Mr.
Burrowes:
I should like the Minister to pick up on the
point I made about the procedure process for the offender who is
brought back before the court. How will they make representations as a
result of the breach? Will they be entitled to legal
representation?
Mr.
Coaker:
The hon. Gentleman made a good point, and I shall
reflect on it, because we will need to ensure that whoever is subject
to the order can make some sort of representation. I shall certainly
consider that issue.
Question
put and agreed to.
Schedule 14 agreed
to.
Clause
73
Rehabilitation
of offenders: orders under section 1(2A) of the Street
Offences
Act
1959
Mr.
Coaker:
I beg to move amendment No. 204, in
clause 73, page 51, line 42, leave
out subsection
(4).
This
technical amendment will extend the scope of the change that the clause
makes in order to cover Scotland as well as England and Wales. With
that brief remark, I hope that the Committee will accept it.
Amendment
agreed to.
Clause 73, as amended,
ordered to stand part of the Bill.
It being One o’clock,
The Chairman
adjourned the Committee
with
out
Question put, pursuant to the Standing
Order.
Adjourned till this day at
Four
o’clock.
| 
