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25Clause 20, page 13, line 7, after "(2),", insert "(2A),"
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 25, to which I spoke when introducing Amendment No. 4.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 25.—(Lord Williams of Mostyn.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
26Page 13, line 15, at end insert—
"(2A) The circumstances are that—
(a) the information is supplied by the Chief Constable under section 33A to the Board;
(b) the Chief Constable informs the Board that, in his opinion, the information is information of a kind mentioned in section 33A(5)(a) or (b)."
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 26. I spoke to this amendment when I dealt with Amendments Nos. 4 to 12.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 26.—(Lord Williams of Mostyn.)
[Amendment No. 26A not moved.]
On Question, Motion agreed to.
27Page 13, line 18, leave out "33A or"
28Page 13, line 18, leave out from second "or" to end of line 19 and insert "a special purposes committee;"
29Page 13, line 20, leave out from "committee" to "that" in line 21.
30Page 13, line 22, leave out "section 33A(5)(a) or (b) or"
31Page 13, line 26, after "section 60" insert "or by a person who is assisting or has assisted in the conduct of such an inquiry"
32Page 13, line 26, leave out from "to" to end of line 27 and insert "a special purposes committee;"
33Page 13, line 32, leave out from "is" to "except" in line 33 and insert "assisting or has assisted in the conduct of the inquiry"
34Page 13, line 34, leave out "member of the staff of the Board" and insert "person"
35Page 13, line 38, leave out from "Ombudsman" to end of line 39 and insert ", or an officer of the Ombudsman, in connection with any function of the Ombudsman;"
36Page 13, line 40, leave out from "to" to end of line 41 and insert "a special purposes committee;"
37Page 14, line 4, at end insert "(2A),"
38Page 14, line 10, leave out from "to" to "to" in line 11 and insert "a special purposes committee,"
39Page 14, line 16, leave out from "Ombudsman" to end of line 17 and insert ", or an officer of the Ombudsman, in connection with any function of the Ombudsman;"
40Page 14, line 31, after "Schedule 1", insert "; and
"officer of the Ombudsman" has the meaning given by section 50(1) of the 1998 Act"
41Page 14, line 31, at end insert—
"(9) In section 59(5) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (c.32) at the beginning insert "Subject to section 74A(6)"."
42Clause 21, page 14, line 36, leave out "and (1B)" and insert "to (1E)"
43Page 14, leave out lines 38 to 45 and insert—
""(1A) The Board shall constitute a committee of its members for the purposes mentioned in sub-paragraph (1B) if—
(a) the Chief Constable informs the Board that he wishes to supply information to a committee of the Board under section 59(4D),
(b) the Secretary of State informs the Board that he proposes to modify a requirement to submit a report under section 59(1) for the purpose mentioned in section 59(4A)(b), or
(c) a person who is conducting or has conducted an inquiry under section 60, or who is assisting or has assisted in the conduct of such an inquiry, informs the Board that he wishes to disclose information to a committee of the Board under section 74A(5).
(1B) The purposes are—
(a) handling information supplied to the committee by the Chief Constable under section 59;
(b) handling information supplied to it by a person who is conducting or has conducted an inquiry under section 60 or by a person who is assisting or has assisted in the conduct of such an inquiry.
(1C) The Board may not constitute a committee of its members for the purposes mentioned in sub-paragraph (1B) if a committee of its members has already been constituted for those purposes under sub-paragraph (1) or (1A).
(1D) A committee constituted under sub-paragraph (1) or (1A) for the purposes mentioned in sub-paragraph (1B) shall consist of 7 members of the Board.
(1E) The members of a committee constituted under sub-paragraph (1) or (1A) for the purposes mentioned in sub-paragraph (1B)—"
44Page 15, line 3, at end insert—
"(4) In section 77(1) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (interpretation) at the appropriate place insert—
""special purposes committee" means a committee constituted by the Board under paragraph 24(1) or (1A) of Schedule 1 for the purposes mentioned in paragraph 24(1B) of that Schedule;"."
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, with your Lordships' leave, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 27 to 44 en bloc. I spoke to these amendments when dealing with Amendment No. 4.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 27 to 44 en bloc.
On Question, Motion agreed to.
22After Clause 18, insert the following new clause—
"APPOINTMENT OF CONSTABLES WITH SPECIAL POLICING SKILLS
(1) The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (c.32) is amended as set out in subsections (2) to (5).
(2) In section 36 (appointments to the Police Service of Northern Ireland) after subsection (3) (training requirements for persons appointed to rank of constable) insert—
"(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person appointed in pursuance of an authorisation under section 47A(1)."
(3) After section 47 insert—
"47A APPOINTMENTS TO POLICE SERVICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
(1) The Board may if requested to do so by the Chief Constable authorise the appointment to the rank of constable in the Police Service of Northern Ireland of a specified number of persons—
(a) who have a specified policing skill, but
(b) who have not complied with the requirements in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 36(3).
(2) The Board shall not give an authorisation under subsection (1) in relation to persons who have a particular policing skill unless it is satisfied—
(a) that the requirements of subsection (3) are met;
(b) that any further requirements which are specified by it under subsection (4) and which apply in relation to the giving of the authorisation are met.
(3) The requirements are—
(a) that there is a need for more persons who have the policing skill to be appointed to the rank of constable in the Police Service of Northern Ireland;
(b) that the need cannot be met by the appointment of persons who have complied with the requirements in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 36(3).
(4) The Board may specify further requirements which apply in relation to the giving of an authorisation under subsection (1).
(5) Any requirements specified under subsection (4) may apply in relation to the giving of all authorisations under subsection (1) or to the giving of a particular authorisation or description of authorisation.
(6) In this section "specified" means specified by the Board."
(4) In paragraph 17(4) of Schedule 1 (procedure for Board decisions) for "paragraph 18" substitute "paragraphs 17A and 18".
(5) After paragraph 17 of Schedule 1 insert—
"Authorisations under section 47A(1)
17A The Board shall not give an authorisation under section 47A(1) unless a proposal to do so has been approved by each member of the Board present and voting on the question at a meeting of the Board."
(6) The preceding provisions of this section expire at the end of a period of two years starting on the day on which this Act is passed.
(7) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (6) by substituting "four years" for "two years".
(8) An order under subsection (7) may be made only with the prior authorisation of the Board.
(9) The Board shall not give an authorisation under subsection (8) unless a proposal to do so has been approved by each member of the Board present and voting on the question at a meeting of the Board.
(10) In paragraph 17(4) of Schedule 1 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (c.32) (procedure for Board decisions) after "18" insert "and section (Appointment of constables with special policing skills)(9) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003".
(11) An order under subsection (7) may not be made after the end of the period of two years specified in subsection (6)."
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 22.
The amendment provides for a limited exception to the 50:50 recruitment arrangements. The Chief Constable will therefore be able to address the current shortage of experienced officers with special policing skills at the rank of constable. A number of your Lordships have raised this question. The amendment was put forward by the Policing Board, with the unanimous support of its members. I welcome the fact that they have responded so constructively. It is a great credit to the board members that they are working in such a way, so co-operatively, that they came to unanimous agreement on such a sensitive issue.
The provision will allow the Chief Constable to bring into the police service a specified number of officers with specialist policing skills where he can demonstrate that there is a significant shortfall—for instance, detectives. He can use it only when certain criteria established by the board have been met, and where the board members unanimously approve its use.
These exceptional arrangements will be available for two years, starting from Royal Assent. The Secretary of State may extend the life of the provision on one occasion only, to allow it to operate for a maximum period in all of four years. Such an extension would require the unanimous agreement of the Board.
This route of entry will be very much the exception. We see it as a temporary measure to plug the skills gap, about which a number of your Lordships were concerned, created largely as a consequence of the severance scheme. It is in no sense a watering down of, or fundamental departure from, the 50:50 requirement.
Amendment No. 22C would enable the measures to be activated with the approval of a majority of the Policing Board. The board has shown great maturity on this and earlier occasions—for example, on symbols—and I am sure that it will do so in the future. The detail of this exceptional mechanism has been the subject of lengthy and painstaking consideration by the board, which of course includes representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party, and it has expressly requested that its unanimity be a precondition for the mechanism's use. We are eager to honour the board's wishes in this regard, and I therefore invite the noble Lords concerned not to press the amendment.
Amendments Nos. 22A, 22B and 22D, taken together, would require the Secretary of State, if asked by a majority of the board, to make an order suspending the 50:50 provisions. Given the strength of support for Amendment No. 22, both here and in the other place, I very much hope that their Lordships will be prepared to withdraw these amendments. We discussed this matter at length earlier. It would be much too radical a departure from 50:50, which is the cornerstone of our policy.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 22.—(Lord Williams of Mostyn.)
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