§ MINOR AND CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS SCOTLAND
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Lords amendment: No. 256, in page 108, line 40, at end insert—
Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 (c. 56)
. In section 4 of the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 (apprehension and punishment of offenders) for the words from ", and on being convicted" onwards, substitute the words "; and every person committing an offence against the provisions of this Act shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.".
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
This amendment derives from an undertaking given to the Committee on the Civic Government (Scotland) Bill. It removes the penalty of imprisonment for offences under the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865, replaces the existing maximum fine of £10 with a new maximum of £25 and deletes the provision which allows a person to be convicted on uncorroborated evidence.
§ Question put and agreed to.
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Lords amendment:No. 257, in page 109, leave out lines 6 to 11 and insert—
(b) at end of that section insert the following subsection—
(4) Subsection (2) above shall extend to Scotland, but save as aforesaid this section shall not extend to Scotland.".
3. At the beginning of section 702 of that Act (offences punishable as misdemeanours) insert the words "Subject to section 703 of this Act,".
3A. For paragraph (a)of section 703 of that Act (summary proceedings in Scotland) substitute the following paragraphs—
(a)subject to section 43(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (which among other things makes certain offences triable either summarily or on indictment), any offence under this Act which was triable only summarily
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immediately before 1st January 1980 (the date of commencement of the said section 43) shall continue to be so triable and shall be deemed to have been so triable at all times since that date;
(aa)subject to any special provisions of this Act—
(i) an offence under this Act described as a misdemeanour shall be triable either summarily or on indictment and, subject to any other penalty prescribed in respect of any particular offence, shall be punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, and on conviction on indictment with a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both;
(ii) subject to sub-paragraph (i) above, an offence under this Act made punishable with imprisonment for any term not exceeding 6 months or with a fine or a maximum fine which does not exceed level 5 on the standard scale shall be triable only summarily;
(iii) an offence under this Act not falling within paragraph (a) above or the preceding provisions of this paragraph shall be triable either summarily or on indictment:
Provided that in relation to the period before the commencement of section 45 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 subparagraph (ii) above shall have effect as if for "level 5 on the standard scale" there were substituted "£1000";".
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
The amendment is designed to bring the mode of trial in Scotland for offences under the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 into line with that in England and Wales, and in so doing avoid the anomalies which might otherwise arise in penalty levels for such offences in the different jurisdictions as a result of the provisions in the Bill.
§ Question put and agreed to.
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Lords amendment:No. 258, in page 112, line 43, at end insert—
Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77)
.In section 6 of the Immigration Act 1971 (recommendations by court for deportation)—
(a) in paragraph(b)of subsection (3), for the words "first offenders" substitute the words "persons who have not previously been sentenced to imprisonment";
(b) in subsection (5), the words "except in Scotland," and paragraph(b) and the word "and" preceding it are repealed.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe amendments effect two minor changes to the Immigration Act 1971 which are consequential on the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980. They should have been made when that measure was passing through the House but unfortunately they were overlooked.
§ Question put and agreed to.
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Lords amendment: No. 259, in page 113, line 1, at end insert—
. In section 193A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (fines on conviction on indictment to be without limit)—
(a) at the beginning, insert "(1)";
(b) for the words "section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980" substitute the words "section 457A(4) of this Act";
(c) after the word "fine" where first occurring insert the words "of or";
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(d)for the word "section" in the second and third places where it occurs substitute the word "subsection";
(e)at the end, insert the following new subsection—
(2) Where any Act confers a power by subordinate instrument to make a person liable on conviction on indictment of any offence mentioned in subsection (1) above to a fine or a maximum fine of a specified amount, or which shall not exceed a specified amount, the fine which may be provided in the exercise of that power shall by virtue of this subsection be a fine of an unlimited amount.".
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
Section 193A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 is designed to give the courts completely unfettered discretion as to the amount of the fine that should be imposed in cases where a person is convicted on indictment. It is designed to remove any limitation on the fine that can be imposed on conviction on indictment of any offence. The amendment simply corrects two technical defects in the existing section.
§ Question put and agreed to.