Other instruments of Interest
23. The School Admissions (Alteration and
Variation of, and Objections to, Arrangements) (England) Regulations
2007 (SI 2007/496) and the Education (Determination of
Admission Arrangements) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2007
(SI 2007/497) confirm and, in some respects, extend the rights
of parents to object to school admissions arrangements. DfES have
laid these SIs in the wake of the new, mandatory School Admissions
Code, on which we commented in our 8th Report. School admissions
policies are a matter of great concern to parents, children and
other interested parties. It is vital that all concerned should
be able readily to understand such policies, and any related rights
to object; and that the Government (and others who share responsibility)
should actively promote such understanding by providing plain
English guidance to explain the arrangements. We are pressing
DfES to ensure that this happens promptly in the case of these,
and other, SIs bearing on school admissions.
24. The Lord Chancellor (Transfer of Functions
and Supplementary Provisions) Order 2007 (SI 2007/661) transfers
to the Crown (in some cases to others) the Lord Chancellor's functions
as visitor of a number of institutions. The role of the visitor
has a quasi-judicial function arbitrating in disputes between
colleges and their fellows or students. Many of these functions
have now been devolved to the Independent Adjudicator for Higher
Education. Where the function is transferred to the Crown, the
Crown will appoint an appropriate adjudicator on a case by case
basis as the need arises.
25. The Curd Cheese (Restriction on Placing
on the Market) (England) (Revocation) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/673)
implement a European Commission Decision lifting the prohibition
on curd cheese being made at Bowland Dairy Products Ltd. Bowland
has reapplied for approval to manufacture dairy products and the
application is under consideration by the local authority, Pendle
Borough Council.
26. The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules
2007 (SI 2007/699) are part of the continuing modernisation
programme to consolidate and simplify the existing rules. This
instrument includes revised rules about the service of documents,
indictments and witness summonses. Members may find of particular
interest new rule 14.2(2) which recasts what is often called the
"rule against duplicity". The new rule allows a prosecutor
in certain circumstances to bring a single charge against a defendant
even though that includes more than one incident of the offence
alleged - for example, where the defendant has laundered the proceeds
of drug trafficking in comparatively small weekly sums for week
after week, or has assaulted the same victim in the same way repeatedly
over a period of time. The change takes account among other things
of the potential under the old rules for a perceived unfairness
to a victim of multiple offending, where, out of many alleged
offences, only a few are prosecuted as examples, giving the impression
that the victim's distress has been underestimated or that he
or she has not been believed. This reform aims to reflect better
what judgments of this House have found consistent with fundamental
principles of fairness.
27. We were disappointed to see the Medicines
for Human Use and Medical Devices (Fees Amendments) Regulations
2007 (SI 2007/610) and the Medicines for Human Use and
Medical Devices (Fees Amendments) (No 2) Regulations 2007 (SI
2007/803) in the same week: the second instrument was laid
to revoke and replace the first which was defective. This casts
a poor light on the quality control processes in the Department
of Health.
28. The draft Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act 2005 (Amendment of Section 76(3)) Order 2007 adds
further offences related to money laundering, corruption
and fraud to the list for which a financial reporting order can
be made. Where the court is satisfied that there is a high risk
of reoffending, the financial reporting order requires convicted
offenders to make such reports of their income and assets to the
appropriate authority.
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