New
Clause
64
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: treatment of
complaints
‘(1) This section
applies where a complaint is made to the
Commissioner.
(2) The
Commissioner shall—
(a)
consider the eligibility of the complaint,
and
(b) unless it is rejected
as being ineligible, take appropriate action to deal with the
complaint.
The duty under
paragraph (b) is subject to the following provisions of this
section.
(3) The action which
may be taken by the Commissioner to deal with the complaint
is—
(a) investigating
the complaint, or
(b) taking,
or facilitating the taking by another person of, any other action (such
as mediation or conciliation) which the Commissioner considers may
result in the resolution of the
complaint,
or any combination
of the actions mentioned in paragraph (a) and
(b).
(4) The Commissioner shall
reject the whole or any part of the complaint
if—
(a) when considering
the eligibility of the complaint under subsection (2),
or
(b) at any time before the
complaint has been fully dealt
with,
the Commissioner decides
that the complaint or part of the complaint is
ineligible.
(5) The
Commissioner need not decide that the whole or any part of the
complaint is ineligible so long as the Commissioner considers that it
is or might be eligible.
(6)
The Commissioner may (for any reason not relating to eligibility)
decline to take, defer or stop taking action to deal with the whole or
any part of the complaint.
(7)
Where the
Commissioner—
(a)
rejects part of a complaint, or
(b) declines to take or stops taking action to deal
with part of a complaint,
the
rest of the complaint shall be dealt with subsequently as if it were
the complaint made by the
complainant.
(8)
Where—
(a) the whole or
any part of a complaint has been rejected,
or
(b) a power under subsection
(7)(b) has been exercised,
the
Commissioner may decide to re-open (and take action or further action
under subsection (3) to deal with) the whole or any part of the
complaint.
(9) But a complaint or part of a complaint may not
be re-opened unless the Commissioner considers that it is or might be
eligible.
(10) Where part of a
complaint is re-opened it may be dealt with subsequently as if it were
a separate complaint made by the
complainant.
(11) If the
Commissioner
decides—
(a) to reject
the whole or any part of the
complaint,
(b) to take any step
mentioned in subsection (6) or
(8),
the Commissioner shall
notify the complainant (with a brief statement of the reasons for the
decision) and may notify such other persons as the Commissioner thinks
fit.
(12) Notification under
subsection (11) may be given
orally.
(13) If the complainant
has died or is unable to act, the reference in subsection (11) to the
complainant is to be read as a reference to the person who appears to
the Commissioner to be the most appropriate person to receive the
notification.
(14) Subject to
the provisions of this section, it is for the Commissioner to determine
the procedures applicable to anything which is to be done in relation
to the complaint.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
65
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: report on the outcome of an
investigation
‘(1) If a
complaint has been investigated or otherwise dealt with, the
Commissioner—
(a) shall
make a report on the outcome of the investigation to the complainant;
and
(b) may make a report on
that outcome to any other
person.
(2) The Commissioner
may—
(a) make a report
orally;
(b) make different
reports to different
persons;
(c) show any person a
draft of the whole or any part of a
report;
(d) publish the whole
or any part of a report.
(3)
But the Commissioner shall not under subsection
(2)(d)—
(a) identify the
complainant without the complainant’s
consent;
(b) if the
complainant is not the relevant person in relation to the complaint,
identify the relevant person without the consent of the
complainant;
(c) identify any
individual from whom any information in the report was received;
or
(d) except where the
Commissioner thinks it necessary in the public interest, identify any
individual to whom any information in the report
relates.
(4) Subsection (3)(c)
and (d) do not apply in relation to the complainant or (if different)
the relevant person.
(5) If
the complainant has died or is unable to
act—
(a) the report
required under subsection (1)(a) shall be made to the person who
appears to the Commissioner to be the most appropriate person to
receive it; and
(b) the consent
required by subsection (3)(b) may be given by any person appearing to
the Commissioner to be an appropriate person to give that
consent.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New Clause
66
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: recommendations by
Commissioner
‘(1) The
Commissioner may make recommendations to a controlling authority about
any matter arising from a complaint which is or has been the subject of
investigation by the
Commissioner.
(2) The authority
must, within the period of 28 days commencing with the day on which it
receives the recommendations, respond in writing to the Commissioner
setting out (with reasons) what it proposes to do about
them.
(3) The Commissioner may
report on that response to such persons as the Commissioner may think
fit.
(4) Subsections (2) to (5)
of section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: report
on the outcome of an investigation) apply in relation to reports under
subsection (3) above as they apply in relation to reports required by
that section.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
67
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigation of
deaths
‘(1) The Commissioner
shall carry out an investigation of every death falling within the
deaths remit.
(2) A death falls
within the deaths remit if it is of a description specified in Schedule
(Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: deaths
remit).
(3) In carrying out the
investigation, the Commissioner must
aim—
(a) to establish
the circumstances surrounding the death;
and
(b) if the Commissioner
considers it would be helpful to do so, to identify steps that should
be taken for the purpose of eliminating or reducing the risk of deaths
occurring under the same or similar
circumstances.
(4) Subject to
that, it is for the Commissioner to determine the scope of, and the
procedure to be applied to, the
investigation.
(5) The
Commissioner may defer the whole or any part of the investigation at
the request of a person who
—
(a) is conducting a
criminal investigation, and
(b)
considers that that investigation might be adversely affected by the
Commissioner’s
investigation.
(6) In
subsection (5) “criminal investigation” means an
investigation conducted by police officers or other persons with a view
to ascertaining whether an offence has been committed or whether a
person should be charged with an
offence.
(7) The Commissioner
may at any time reopen the investigation
of—
(a) a death
previously investigated under this section;
or
(b) a death previously
investigated by the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland that would,
if it occurred after the commencement of this section, fall within the
deaths remit;
and a re-opened
investigation shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as a
separate investigation under this
section.
(8) The Commissioner
may make recommendations to a controlling authority about any matter
arising from an
investigation.
(9) Such
recommendations may be made during the investigation or after its
conclusion.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New Clause
68
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: reports on the outcome of a
death investigation
‘(1) This
section applies where the Commissioner has carried out an investigation
of a death under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: investigations of
death).
(2) The Commissioner
shall make a report
to—
(a) the Secretary of
State;
(b) the controlling
authority appearing to the Commissioner to have the most direct
responsibility over the matters covered by the investigation (where
that authority is not the Secretary of State);
and
(c) a coroner who is
holding or who is to hold an inquest into the
death.
(3) The Commissioner may
also make a report to any other person the Commissioner considers
should receive a report.
(4)
The Commissioner shall exercise the power under subsection (3) to
ensure that a report is made to at least one person
who—
(a) is a personal
representative of the
deceased,
(b) was the partner,
or other close relative, of the deceased at the time of the death,
or
(c) appears to the
Commissioner to have been a friend of the deceased at the time of the
death.
(5) The duty under
subsection (4) does not apply if, after taking all reasonable steps to
ascertain the identity of, and a means of contacting, a person falling
within that subsection, the Commissioner is unable to comply with
it.
(6) In subsections (2) to
(4) “report” means a report in writing on the outcome of
the investigation.
(7) The
Commissioner may—
(a)
make different reports under this section to different
persons;
(b) show any person a
draft of the whole or any part of a report to be made under this
section;
(c) publish the whole
or any part of a report made under this
section.
(8) The Commissioner
must not under subsection
(7)(c)—
(a) identify the
deceased person without the consent of a personal representative of
that person,
(b) identify any
individual from whom any information in the report was received,
or
(c) except where the
Commissioner thinks it necessary in the public interest, identify any
individual to whom any information in the report
relates.
(9) Subsection (8)(c)
does not apply in relation to the deceased
person.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New Clause
69
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations requested by
the Secretary of State
‘(1)
The Secretary of State may request the Commissioner to investigate any
matter mentioned in subsection (3) or (4) which is specified in the
request.
(2) The Secretary of
State shall consult the Commissioner before making a request under this
section.
(3) A request may
specify any matter relating to events which have (or may have)
occurred—
(a) at
applicable premises;
(b) while
a person is in the custody of prison officers or prisoner custody
officers, or under their control or escort, anywhere in the
world;
(c) in the course of exercising any function of the
Secretary of State relating to prisons or persons detained in
prison;
(d) in the course of
exercising any functions of a prison officer or prisoner custody
officer.
(4) A request may also
specify any matter the Secretary of State considers is (or may be)
linked to events falling within subsection
(3).
(5) It is the duty of the
Commissioner to investigate any matter which is the subject of a
request under this section.
(6)
Subject to any directions given to the Commissioner by the Secretary of
State, it is for the Commissioner to determine the scope of, and the
procedure to be applied to, an investigation under this
section.
(7) Subject to any
such directions, the Commissioner may at any time
reopen—
(a) an
investigation previously carried out under this section;
or
(b) an investigation carried
out by the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland of matters referred
to the Ombudsman by the Secretary of State (so far as relating to
matters that could be the subject of a request under this
section);
and a re-opened
investigation shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as a
separate investigation under this
section.
(8) In subsection
(3)—
(a) the reference
in paragraph (c) to the Secretary of State is to the Secretary of State
having responsibility for prisons in Northern
Ireland;
(b) the references to
functions are to functions conferred by or under any Act or Northern
Ireland legislation (including, in the case of prison officers,
functions exercisable by virtue of section 8 of the Prison Act
(Northern Ireland) 1953 (N.I. 18) (constabulary powers
etc.).’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
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