House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
154

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

‘(3)
The senior coroner may then request the relevant person to submit, within 3

months, a full update on any action he has taken, or alternatively detail the

reasons for any failure to take action.

(4)
The senior coroner must at the end of each year forward all reports and updates

to the Chief Coroner, who must present them to Parliament.’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

122

Schedule  4,  page  129,  line  30,  at end add—

‘(3)
The Chief Coroner shall once a year make a report to the Lord Chancellor of the

reports and recommendations made by senior coroners in the previous 12

months.’.

Mr David Kidney

93

Schedule  4,  page  129,  line  30,  at end add—

‘7  (1)
A person who fails to comply with the duty in paragraph 6(2) commits an

offence.

      (2)
A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable on summary

conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

8    (1)
A senior coroner shall send to the Chief Coroner a copy of all—

(i)
reports referred to in paragraph 6(1); and

(ii)
responses referred to in paragraph 6(2).

      (2)
The Chief Coroner shall maintain a register of all the material he receives

pursuant to sub-paragraph (1) and shall from time to time publish a summary

of—

(i)
the reports and responses referred to in sub-paragraph (1) subject to

appropriate protection of confidential data; and

(ii)
his analysis of the conclusions to be drawn from them with regard to

reducing the risk of death.

      (3)
The Chief Coroner shall send copies of the reports he publishes pursuant to

sub-paragraph (2) to—

(i)
the Lord Chancellor; and

(ii)
Parliament.’.

Jenny Willott

262

Schedule  6,  page  132,  line  22,  leave out ‘(or on behalf of)’ and insert ‘the relevant

local authority, on behalf of’.

Jenny Willott

263

Schedule  6,  page  132,  line  25,  leave out ‘(or on behalf of)’ and insert ‘the relevant

local authority, on behalf of’.

Jenny Willott

264

Schedule  6,  page  133,  line  3,  leave out ‘(or on behalf of)’ and insert ‘the relevant

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
155

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

local authority, on behalf of’.

Jenny Willott

265

Schedule  6,  page  133,  line  25,  leave out from ‘coroners’ to end of line 26.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

127

Schedule  7,  page  134,  line  17,  leave out ‘or as a Deputy Chief Coroner’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr Tim Boswell

Mr James Gray

36

Schedule  7,  page  134,  line  19,  after second ‘judge’, insert ‘or a senior coroner’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr Tim Boswell

Mr James Gray

37

Schedule  7,  page  134,  line  20,  leave out ‘70’ and insert ‘72’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

128

Schedule  7,  page  134,  line  20,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
To be eligible for appointment as a Deputy Chief Coroner a person must be

(a)
a judge of the High Court or a Circuit Judge or a senior coroner, and

(b)
under the age of 70.’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr Tim Boswell

Mr James Gray

38

Schedule  7,  page  134,  line  24,  leave out ‘70th’ and insert ‘72nd’.

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
156

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

Jenny Willott

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

258

Clause  28,  page  14,  line  33,  leave out ‘may’ and insert ‘shall’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

124

Clause  29,  page  15,  line  18,  at end insert ‘and provide a copy of the report to the

Chief Coroner.’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

123

Clause  29,  page  15,  line  39,  after ‘coroner,’, insert ‘a copy may be provided to the

Chief Coroner, and’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr Tim Boswell

Mr James Gray

96

Clause  30,  page  16,  line  13,  at end insert ‘(including a decision under section

7(2A)’.

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

99

Clause  30,  page  16,  line  21,  at end insert—

‘(k)
a decision not to allow legal representation funded by the Legal Services

Commission to assist anyone falling within section 36(2)(a).’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

129

Clause  30,  page  16,  leave out line 26.

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
157

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

362

Clause  30,  page  16,  line  46,  at end insert ‘, subject to all coroners enjoying

indemnity for costs.’.

Bridget Prentice

24

Clause  31,  page  17,  line  11,  after ‘judge’ insert ‘, former judge or former coroner’.

Bridget Prentice

25

Schedule  8,  page  135,  line  35,  leave out sub-paragraph (1) and insert—

  ‘(1)
If requested to do so by the Chief Coroner, the Lord Chief Justice may

nominate a person within sub-paragraph (1A) to conduct an investigation into

a person’s death.

    (1A)
A person is within this sub-paragraph if at the time of the nomination he or she

is—

(a)
a judge of the High Court,

(b)
a Circuit judge, or

(c)
a person who has held office as a judge of the Court of Appeal or of

the High Court (but no longer does so),


and is under the age of 75.

    (1B)
The Chief Coroner may request a person who at the time of the request—

(a)
has held office as a senior coroner (but no longer does so), and

(b)
is under the age of 75,


to conduct an investigation into a person’s death.’.

Bridget Prentice

26

Schedule  8,  page  136,  line  1,  leave out from beginning to ‘has’ in line 3 and insert

‘If a person nominated or requested under this paragraph agrees to conduct the

investigation—

(a)
that person is under a duty to do so;

(b)
that person’.

Bridget Prentice

27

Schedule  8,  page  136,  line  9,  leave out ‘judge nominated under this paragraph’ and

insert ‘person who has been nominated or requested under this paragraph to conduct an

investigation and has agreed to do so’.

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
158

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

Bridget Prentice

28

Schedule  8,  page  136,  line  15,  leave out ‘a person who is not a senior coroner’ and

insert ‘the Chief Coroner or some other person who is a judge of the High Court or a

Circuit judge, or by a person who has held office as a judge of the Court of Appeal or of

the High Court’.

Bridget Prentice

29

Schedule  8,  page  136,  line  21,  leave out paragraphs (a) and (b) and insert—

‘(a)
where the person mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) is—

(i)
a judge of the High Court, or

(ii)
a person who has held office as a judge of the Court of Appeal

or of the High Court,


a judge of the Court of Appeal;

(b)
otherwise, a judge of the High Court.’.

Jenny Willott

David Howarth

125

Clause  34,  page  19,  leave out lines 10 to 12.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr Tim Boswell

Mr James Gray

31

Page  20,  line  9,  leave out Clause 35.

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

101

Clause  36,  page  20,  line  18,  at end insert—

‘(aa)
a legal professional, if one has been appointed for the purposes of

assisting the family;’.

Dr Brian Iddon

189

Clause  37,  page  22,  line  37,  at end insert ‘“post mortem examination” includes

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
159

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

both invasive and non-invasive examination;’.

David Howarth

Jenny Willott

110

Clause  38,  page  23,  line  28,  leave out from ‘5’ to end of line 29.

Andrew Mackinlay

21

Page  23,  line  26,  leave out Clause 38.

David Howarth

Jenny Willott

109

Schedule  9,  page  139,  line  3,  leave out from beginning to end of line 6 on page 140.

Andrew Mackinlay

22

Page  136,  line  29,  leave out Schedule 9.

David Howarth

Jenny Willott

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

105

Clause  151,  page  96,  line  40,  leave out ‘within subsection (2)’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

373

Clause  151,  page  97,  line  2,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
If a data controller has failed to comply with an assessment notice as requires

steps to be taken, the Information Commissioner may certify in writing to the

court that the government department or public authority has failed to comply

with that notice.

(1B)
For the purposes of this section, a data controller which, in purported compliance

with an information notice—

Public Bill Committee: 24 February 2009
160

Coroners and Justice Bill, continued

(a)
makes a statement which it knows to be false in a material respect, or

(b)
recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material respect,


is to be taken to have failed to comply with the notice.

(1C)
Where a failure to comply is certified under subsection (13)(a), the court may

inquire into the matter and, after hearing any witness who may be produced

against or on behalf of the public authority, and after hearing any statement that

may be offered in defence, deal with the authority as if it had committed a

contempt of court.

(1D)
In subsections (1A) to (1C), “the court” means the High Court or, in Scotland, the

Court of Session.’.

David Howarth

Jenny Willott

Alun Michael

106

Clause  151,  page  97,  leave out lines 3 to 7.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

355

Clause  151,  page  97,  line  42,  at end insert—

‘(6A)
Non-compliance with any assessment notice will be treated as a contempt of

court.’.

David Howarth

Jenny Willott

107

Clause  151,  page  98,  line  24,  at end insert—

‘( )
A County Court may make a compliance order against a data controller if

satisfied on application by the Commissioner that—

(a)
an assessment notice has been properly made against the date controller,

(b)
the data controller has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with

the assessment notice.

( )
A person who fails to comply with a compliance order may be proceeded against

for contempt of court.’.

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Edward Garnier

Jeremy Wright

Mr James Gray

Mr Tim Boswell

372

Clause  151,  page  99,  line  30,  leave out ‘without the approval of the Secretary of

State’ and insert ‘until the code has been approved by a resolution of each House of

Parliament’.