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Lord Falconer of Thoroton moved Amendment No. 15:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Carter: My Lords, perhaps I may intervene for just a moment. In the proceedings on the Statement on the European Commission, my noble friend the Leader of the House inadvertently omitted page 3 of the text as supplied to the Opposition and as made available to your Lordships in the Printed Paper Office.
After discussions through the usual channels, it has been suggested that in order to ensure accuracy and completeness of the record of proceedings, the Statement should appear in Hansard tomorrow in its full and complete form. I hope that the House will accept my noble friend's apology for that error and will agree that the full text should appear in Hansard in the morning.
Lord Henley: My Lords, I thank the Government Chief Whip for making that statement. We fully accept the apology made on behalf of the noble Baroness the Leader of the House. We accept that in reading the Statement, she inadvertently turned over two pages at once and we were deprived of the advantage of hearing her repeat page 3.
I have not yet looked at page 3. There may be some points on that page which Members of the House will not have seen. My noble friend the Leader of the Opposition will have seen it because he had a copy of the Statement. However, some noble Lords may wish to ask questions on the content of page 3. Perhaps the noble Baroness the Leader of the House will be available at some stage so that noble Lords can ask
Lord Carter: My Lords, I must admit that I had not thought of that. I believe that that page is something to do with the role of M. Santer and that the content of those paragraphs will meet with the full approval of your Lordships' House. I suggest that noble Lords should read that page of the Statement and if they wish to raise matters with my noble friend, they should do so by writing to her. If there is a need to take the matter further, we shall try to do that.
Lord Henley: My Lords, I imagine that the noble Baroness the Leader of the House will be available tomorrow. I know that the noble Lord the Chief Whip has it in mind to make a statement after Question Time tomorrow. It may be that noble Lords will be able to ask questions at that stage.
Consideration of amendments on Third Reading resumed.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton moved Amendment No. 16:
Page 25, line 24, at end insert--
("( ) No appeal may be made against a decision of a court under this section to give or refuse permission (but this subsection does not affect any right under rules of court to make a further application for permission to the same or another court).").
5.45 p.m.
After Clause 43, insert the following new clause--
(".--(1) In section 40(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (order returning offender to prison for unserved portion of sentence to be treated for purposes of appeal provisions as sentence passed for original offence), for the words from "any enactment" to "made" substitute "sections 9 and 10 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, any order made by the Crown Court under subsection (2) above, or made under subsection (3A) above,".
(2) Section 10 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (appeal to Court of Appeal by person dealt with by Crown Court for offence of which he was not convicted on indictment) is amended in accordance with subsections (3) and (4).
(3) In subsection (2) (proceedings from which an appeal lies), insert at the end "; or
(c) having been released under Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 after serving part of a sentence of imprisonment or detention imposed for the offence, is ordered by the Crown Court to be returned to prison or detention,".
(4) In subsection (3) (cases where person may appeal), in paragraph (cc) (order under section 40(3A)), for "40(3A)" substitute "40(2) or (3A)".").
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, this new clause makes amendments to both Section 40 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and Section 10 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. This is a minor, technical and, I hope, uncontroversial clause. These changes have been identified, in consultation with the Law Commission, as being necessary to facilitate the consolidation of certain enactments relating to the sentencing powers of the courts. They are needed before a Consolidation Bill can be introduced in a future Session of Parliament.
The amendments will clarify the appeal rights of an offender who is returned to prison under Section 40 of the 1991 Act. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Falconer of Thoroton moved Amendment No. 17:
After Clause 44, insert the following new clause--
(". For section 58 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 (exercise of incidental jurisdiction in civil division of Court of Appeal) substitute--
"Calling into question of incidental decisions in civil division.
58.--(1) Rules of court may provide that decisions of the Court of Appeal which--
(a) are taken by a single judge or any officer or member of staff of that court in proceedings incidental to any cause or matter pending before the civil division of that court, and
(b) do not involve the determination of an appeal or of an application for permission to appeal,
may be called into question in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) No appeal shall lie to the House of Lords from a decision which may be called into question pursuant to rules under subsection (1)."").
On Question, amendment agreed to.
The Lord Chancellor moved Amendment No. 18:
After Clause 51, insert the following new clause--
(" .--(1) In section 36 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (child not to be present at criminal trial except where required as witness or otherwise for the purposes of justice), after "justice" insert "or while the court consents to his presence".
(2) In section 50(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (child not to be present at criminal proceedings unless required as witness or otherwise for the purposes of justice), after "justice" insert "or the court consents to his presence".").
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 18, with your Lordships' leave I will speak also to Amendments Nos. 23, 24, 55 and 68. Section 36 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 prohibits children (that is, young people under the age of 14) from attending criminal trials unless the child is a defendant, a witness, an infant in arms, or his presence is required for the purposes of justice. At Report stage the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, proposed an amendment which would allow children to attend criminal trials with the consent of the court. He stressed the educational value of such a change.
The Government put a high value on participation in our justice system. Two notable examples are juries and the lay magistracy. Equally, the road to justice is generally, in our country, a public one. Our courts sit in public unless there are countervailing public interests, and these are rare. It is a useful promotion of a sense of citizenship for children to be able to witness our criminal justice system in action. In was for that reason, when the noble Lord first proposed these amendments, that I expressed some sympathy for the spirit of the
The Government have already made changes to youth court procedure to achieve a greater openness in proceedings, and we entirely agree with the proposal by the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, which will affect not only the magistrates' court, but also the Crown Court. The Lord Chief justice also supports such a change.
Amendment No. 18 therefore permits children under 14 years of age to attend criminal trials in England and Wales, with the consent of the court. It also makes a comparable change for Scotland, which has the support of the Lord Justice General.
I am advised that, if your Lordships agree to the inclusion of this new clause, a technical amendment is needed to the Long Title. That is the purpose of Amendment No. 68.
Amendment No. 23 amends the extent of the Bill in respect of children attending criminal proceedings in Scotland. Amendment No. 24 improves the drafting changes of Clause 83 on extent.
At the same time we have taken the opportunity to remove from Section 36 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 a redundant qualification on the prohibition in respect of children who had cause to attend court for purposes connected with their employment. This is achieved by Amendment No. 55. I beg to move.
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