New Clause
78
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: notification of matters of
potential concern to the police or other
authorities
‘(1) If while
performing any functions the Commissioner forms the
opinion—
(a) that there
should be a criminal investigation into any matter,
or
(b) that a controlling
authority should, as a matter of urgency, take action in relation to
any matter,
the Commissioner
may notify a police force or that authority (as the case may be) of the
matter as soon as is
practicable.
(2) A notification
under subsection (1) may include such information relating to the
matter in question as the Commissioner thinks
fit.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
79
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: power to pay
expenses
‘(1) Subject to
subsection (3), the Commissioner may make payments (of such amounts as
the Commissioner thinks fit) towards the expenses
of—
(a) a person who has
made an eligible complaint;
or
(b) a person who provides
the Commissioner with information or other assistance in relation to an
eligible complaint or to an investigation under section (Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations of deaths)
or (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations
requested by the Secretary of
State).
(2) The Treasury may
issue guidelines in relation
to—
(a) the
circumstances under which payments under this section may be made;
and
(b) the amounts of such
payments.
(3) The Commissioner
must comply with any guidelines so issued.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
80
Transitional
provision: the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern
Ireland
‘(1) The Prisoner
Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (“the Ombudsman”) has no
power to act in relation to—
(a) any complaint made after commencement (whether
or not it relates to events which occurred before or on or after 2 May
2005);
(b) any death or other
matter occurring after
commencement;
(c) any matter
referred by the Secretary of State after
commencement.
(2) The Ombudsman
shall continue to act (under the applicable terms of reference) in
relation to—
(a) any
complaint made before commencement (“an existing
complaint”),
(b) any
death occurring before commencement (“an existing death
investigation”), and
(c)
any other matter referred to the Commissioner by the Secretary of State
before commencement (“an existing referral
investigation”),
unless the complaint, death or matter is treated by
the Commissioner as one to be dealt with under this Part by virtue of
subsection (4).
(3) The
Ombudsman may re-open a completed investigation into any death or other
matter referred by the Secretary of State (unless it has previously
been re-opened under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: investigations of death) or (Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: investigations requested by the Secretary of
State) by the
Commissioner).
(4) The
Commissioner may treat—
(a) an existing complaint (so far as relating to
matters within the complaints remit) as an eligible complaint (whether
or not it relates to events which occurred before or on or after 2 May
2005);
(b) an existing death
investigation (if it relates to a death that would fall within the
deaths remit if it occurred after the commencement of this section) as
an investigation under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Prison Complaints: investigations of
death);
(c) an existing
referral investigation (so far as relating to matters that could be the
subject of a request under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Prison Complaints: investigtions requested by the Secretary of State))
as an investigation under section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Prison Complaints: investigations requested by the Secretary of
State).
(5) For the purposes of
any complaint, death or matter which is to any extent dealt with under
this Part by virtue of subsection (4), things done by or in relation to
the Ombudsman shall be treated as having been done by or in relation to
the Commissioner.
(6) In this
section “commencement’ means the commencement of this
section.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
81
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints:
interpretation
‘(1) In this
Part—
“applicable
premises” means a prison, a young offenders centre or a remand
centre in Northern Ireland;
“the complaints remit” is to be
construed in accordance with section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Prison Complaints: eligible complaints:
general)(2);
“controlling
authority”
means—
(a) a person
listed in Schedule (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison
Complaints: controlling authorities);
or
(b) any person of a
description specified in an order made by the Secretary of
State;
“the deaths
remit” is to be construed in accordance with section (Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations of
deaths)(2);
“document”
includes information recorded in any
form;
“eligible”,
in relation to a complaint or part of a complaint, means eligible for
the purposes of this Part in accordance with section (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: eligible complaints: general)(1)
(and cognate expressions are to be construed
accordingly);
“events”
includes any conduct or
omission;
“police
force” means—
(c) the Police Service of Northern
Ireland;
(d) a police force in
England, Wales or Scotland;
(e)
the Ministry of Defence
Police;
(f) the British
Transport Police Force;
and
“police officer” shall be construed
accordingly;
“prison
officer” means an individual appointed to a post under section
2(2) of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953
(N.I.18);
“prisoner
custody officer” means a person who is a prison custody officer
within the meaning of Chapter 3 of Part 8 of the Criminal Justice and
Public Order Act 1994 (c.
33);
“the relevant
person”, in relation to a complaint, has the meaning given by
section (Northern Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: eligible
complaints:
general)(10);
“subordinate
legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act
1978 (c. 30).
(2) In
this section, “prison” has the same meaning as in the
Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953
(N.I.18).
(3) Any power under
this Part to make an order modifying a provision of any legislation
includes power to amend, repeal or revoke that
provision.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
82
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: power to modify certain
provisions
‘(1) The Secretary
of State may by order modify Schedule (Northern Ireland Commissioner
for Prison Complaints: complaints remit) so as
to—
(a) add a
description of matter to that Schedule;
or
(b) amend or repeal any
description of matter for the time being specified
there.
(2) The power in
subsection (1) may not be exercised so as to exclude any matters that
fall within a description specified in Schedule (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: complaints remit) when this Act is
passed.
(3) The Secretary of
State may by order modify Schedule (Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Prison Complaints: deaths remit) so as
to—
(a) add a
description of death; or
(b)
amend or repeal any description of death for the time being specified
there.
(4) The power in
subsection (3) may not be exercised so as to exclude any deaths that
fall within a description specified in Schedule (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: deaths remit) when this Act is
passed.
(5) The Secretary of
State may by order modify subsection (3) of section (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: investigations requested by the
Secretary of State) so as
to—
(a) add a
description of events; or
(b)
amend or repeal any description of events for the time being specified
in that subsection.
(6) The
Secretary of State may by order modify section (Northern Ireland
Commissioner for Prison Complaints: disclosure of information etc.) so
as to—
(a) add an
exception to subsection
(3);
(b) amend or repeal an
exception for the time being specified in that subsection;
or
(c) specify further
circumstances in which subsection (8) does not
apply.
(7) The power in
subsection (6) may not be exercised so as to have the effect of
removing or limiting an exception contained in section (Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: disclosure of information
etc.)(3)(a) or (b) when this Act is passed.
(8) The power under section 123(3)(c) to make
consequential provision in an order under this section includes power
to modify this or any other Act or any subordinate legislation, or any
Northern Ireland legislation or instrument made under Northern Ireland
legislation, whenever passed or
made.
(9) Nothing in subsection
(2), (4) or (7) prevents a power under this section being used to
remove any provision that is spent.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
83
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Prison Complaints: power to confer new
functions
‘(1) The Secretary
of State may by order make provision (whether by amending this Part or
otherwise) for or in connection
with—
(a) the conferring
of additional functions on the
Commissioner;
(b) the
conferring of functions on the Secretary of State in relation to any
additional function conferred on the
Commissioner.
(2) The power
under section 123(3)(c) to make consequential provision in an order
under this section includes power to modify this or any other Act or
any subordinate legislation, or any Northern Ireland legislation or
instrument made under Northern Ireland legislation, whenever passed or
made.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
84
Further
amendments relating to appeals in criminal
cases
‘Schedule (Appeals in
criminal cases) amends the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (c. 19), the
Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980 (c. 47) and other Acts
relating to appeals in criminal cases.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought up,
read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New
Clause
85
Amendments
to armed forces
legislation
‘Schedule
(Amendments to armed forces legislation)
contains—
(a) amendments
to armed forces legislation (which make provision for service courts
etc. corresponding to other provisions of this Act);
and
(b) transitional provision
relating to certain of those amendments.’.—[Maria
Eagle.]
Brought
up, read the First and Second time, and added to the
Bill.
New Clause
18
Offences
under football banning
order
‘If a constable has
reasonable grounds to believe that a person (“P”) is
about to breach the terms of a football banning order, he may require P
to present his passport.’.—[Mr.
Hollobone.]
Brought
up, and read the First
time.
Mr.
Hollobone:
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second
time.
My new clause arises out of
concerns expressed to us by the Police Federation. In Committee, on 16
October, Jan Berry, the police officer who gave evidence, said that she
shared the concerns that I put to
her:
“currently, officers
only have the right to request to see passports, and that many
individuals—for example, those subject to a football banning
order—are acutely aware of that and
decline”.——[Official Report, Criminal Justice
and Immigration Public Bill Committee, 16 October 2007; c. 57,
Q110.]
Mr.
Coaker:
I hope that I can persuade the hon. Gentleman to
withdraw his amendment, because it is unnecessary. Football banning
orders have been incredibly successful in reducing football-related
violence here and abroad. The police already possess extensive and
specific powers during a football control period, which commences five
days before an overseas match or tournament. Banned individuals are
required by the enforcing authority to report to a designated police
station five days before an overseas match or tournament to surrender
their passport and to report to a designated police station on match
days.
If an officer has
reasonable grounds for believing that a person has breached, or is
about to breach, the terms of a football banning order, they can arrest
them without warrant. Breaches of football banning orders are already
offences. Under section 14J(1)(b) of the Football Spectators Act 1989,
a breach of any requirement by the enforcing authority to surrender a
passport during the control period is an offence. In those
circumstances, under section 42 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
1984, summary arrest might be necessary in order to ascertain the
identity of the person in question or to prevent that person from
causing physical injury or loss or damage to property.
The new clause misunderstands
the primary purpose of police ports operations. It is extremely rare
for an individual subject to a football banning order to try and travel
to an overseas tournament, because they do not have their passport.
Just two people attempted to breach an order during the 2006 World cup.
The police ports operation enables the police to identify known
individuals whom they believe will cause violence, at which point they
can prevent them from travelling and subject them to the courts and an
almost instantaneous football banning order, which would require them
to give up their passport. I hope that with that reassurance, the hon.
Gentleman will recognise that significant powers are available to the
police and that his new clause is
unnecessary.
Mr.
Hollobone:
I am very happy to withdraw my new clause on
the proviso that the Minister agrees to write to Jan Berry at the
Police Federation with his
explanation.
Mr.
Coaker:
I shall do that, but I also
spoke to the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on
football-related disorder and violence, Assistant Chief Constable Steve
Thomas, about this. He said that there was no issue with respect to
passports and police officer powers. I will write to Jan Berry to
inform her of that.
Mr.
Hollobone:
I beg to ask leave to withdraw the
motion.
Motion and
clause, by leave,
withdrawn.
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