§
'For any case brought before a court martial or a standing civilian court, the court shall have power to call for a social inquiry report to be made where it is considered that to do so would assist the court.'.—[Dr. Godman.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Dr. GodmanI beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
If every other court in the land on occasion seeks the advantageous use of social inquiry reports, why not courts martial?
§ Mr. StanleyThe proposition of the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) is straightforward, but I shall speak at greater length than he did.
The 1981 Select Committee accepted that current procedures already provided a great deal of relevent information about the character, background and circumstances of an accused person. However, the Committee suggested that full information of this type was particularly important in the case of young offenders and recommended the evolution of a system under which social inquiry reports on young offenders could be made more readily available. As a result of our consideration of this recommendation, I announced during the debate on the Army, Air Force and Naval Discipline Acts (Continuation) Order 1985 that a system had been introduced which would allow social inquiry reports to be provided in cases where a young Army or RAF service man was appearing before a court martial charged with a serious offence. Social inquiry reports may also be provided in other cases if appropriate. They will also be provided in similar circumstances for young civilian offenders appearing before a standing civilian court or court martial. These reports will be prepared by qualified SSAFA social workers or, in Germany, by the senior probation officer. In the case of the Navy, social inquiry reports will continue to be provided by the naval personal and families service. This system of social inquiry reports has now been in place for nearly a year and appears to be working well.
In the new clause, the hon. Gentleman seeks to extend the provision of social inquiry reports to all courts martial and standing civilian courts. However, his draft clause is, I am afraid, seriously defective. It contains no definition of the term "social inquiry report" which is defined where it appears in other legislation. The draft clause does not lay a statutory duty on any particular body or person to produce social inquiry reports where these are called for and, without this, the amendment can have no legal effect.
More substantively we do not consider this amendment to be necessary. Even where a formal social inquiry report is not provided, full information on an offender's character, background and circumstances must already be given to the court as a matter of course under regulations governing the conduct of the various types of service courts. In the Army and RAF the information thus routinely provided has recently been improved and expanded in order to provide the fullest possible detail. No comparable improvement was necessary in the Navy since there are already facilities to provide full social inquiry reports on all offenders. This is possible because of the 432 much smaller number of courts martial in the Navy. I can assure the House that the duty to provide this information is taken very seriously. However, if the court is not satisfied with the information it has been given, it can order such extra information as it requires and adjourn while that is prepared.
9.45 pm
Taken together with the provision of formal social inquiry reports on all young offenders wherever practicable and also on other, older, offenders where deemed appropriate and where resources permit, I believe that the personal information already provided to service courts is perfectly sufficient. On that basis I ask the Committee to reject the amendment because I believe that it is superfluous in terms of the practice we are already following.
§ Mr. McNamaraI have listened carefully to what the Minister said. We do not accept the point that he has made. We do not think that the clause is inappropriate. We think that more mandatory information should be given. If the clause of my hon. Friend the Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) is defective we should be happy if the Minister would accept the principle of it and allow it to go through to be amended in another place. I hope that we shall divide on the clause.
§ Mr. DalyellOn the matter of older offenders, was there a social inquiry report and did the procedure work in the case of the airman of 9 Royal Signals Regiment who was tried as a result of the so-called Cyprus spy trial? This is not the time nor place to go into that, but some of us begin to wonder whether far more inquries ought to have been made before charges were initiated.
§ Question put, That the clause be read a Second time:—
§ The Committee divided: Ayes 58, Noes 121.
433| Division No. 134] | [9.46pm |
| AYES | |
| Alton, David | Livsey, Richard |
| Archer, Rt Hon Peter | Lloyd, Tony (Stretford) |
| Atkinson, N. (Tottenham) | Loyden, Edward |
| Beckett, Mrs Margaret | McCartney, Hugh |
| Bennett, A. (Dent'n & Red'sh) | McNamara, Kevin |
| Bermingham, Gerald | Madden, Max |
| Brown, Hugh D. (Provan) | Marshall, David (Shettleston) |
| Caborn, Richard | Maxton, John |
| Carlile, Alexander (Montg'y) | Meadowcroft, Michael |
| Carter-Jones, Lewis | Michie, William |
| Clay, Robert | Millan, Rt Hon Bruce |
| Cocks, Rt Hon M. (Bristol S) | Nellist, David |
| Cook, Robin F. (Livingston) | Park, George |
| Corbyn, Jeremy | Parry, Robert |
| Craigen, J. M. | Patchett, Terry |
| Dalyell, Tam | Penhaligon, David |
| Deakins, Eric | Pike, Peter |
| Dewar, Donald | Powell, Raymond (Ogmore) |
| Dixon, Donald | Redmond, Martin |
| Dormand, Jack | Richardson, Ms Jo |
| Eastham, Ken | Skinner, Dennis |
| Edwards, Bob (W'h'mpt'n SE) | Smith, C.(Isl'ton S & F'bury) |
| Fields, T. (L'pool Broad Gn) | Wallace, James |
| Foster, Derek | Wardell, Gareth (Gower) |
| Freeson, Rt Hon Reginald | Wigley, Dafydd |
| Godman, Dr Norman | Winnick, David |
| Hardy, Peter | Young, David (Bolton SE) |
| Haynes, Frank | |
| Howells, Geraint | Tellers for the Ayes: |
| Kirkwood, Archy | Mr. Norman Hogg and |
| Lamond, James | Mr. John McWilliam. |
| NOES | |
| Alexander, Richard | King, Rt Hon Tom |
| Amess, David | Knight, Greg (Derby N) |
| Ashby, David | Knight, Dame Jill (Edgbaston) |
| Atkins, Robert (South Ribble) | Lang, Ian |
| Atkinson, David (B'm'th E) | Lennox-Boyd, Hon Mark |
| Baker, Nicholas (Dorset N) | Lilley, Peter |
| Batiste, Spencer | Lloyd, Peter (Fareham) |
| Bellingham, Henry | Lyell, Nicholas |
| Bevan, David Gilroy | McCurley, Mrs Anna |
| Biggs-Davison, Sir John | MacKay, John (Argyll & Bute) |
| Blackburn, John | McNair-Wilson, M. (N'bury) |
| Body, Sir Richard | Major, John |
| Bottomley, Peter | Malone, Gerald |
| Bottomley, Mrs Virginia | Marland, Paul |
| Bowden, Gerald (Dulwich) | Mather, Carol |
| Braine, Rt Hon Sir Bernard | Maude, Hon Francis |
| Brinton, Tim | Merchant, Piers |
| Brittan, Rt Hon Leon | Miller, Hal (B'grove) |
| Buck, Sir Antony | Newton, Tony |
| Carlisle, John (Luton N) | Pollock, Alexander |
| Carttiss, Michael | Powell, William (Corby) |
| Chapman, Sydney | Powley, John |
| Chope, Christopher | Raffan, Keith |
| Conway, Derek | Rhys Williams, Sir Brandon |
| Coombs, Simon | Rifkind, Rt Hon Malcolm |
| Cope, John | Roe, Mrs Marion |
| Couchman, James | Rowe, Andrew |
| Currie, Mrs Edwina | Ryder, Richard |
| Dicks, Terry | Sainsbury, Hon Timothy |
| Dunn, Robert | Shaw, Sir Michael (Scarb') |
| Durant, Tony | Sims, Roger |
| Eggar, Tim | Speed, Keith |
| Eyre, Sir Reginald | Spencer, Derek |
| Fairbairn, Nicholas | Stanbrook, Ivor |
| Favell, Anthony | Stanley, Rt Hon John |
| Forth, Eric | Stern, Michael |
| Fowler, Rt Hon Norman | Stevens, Lewis (Nuneaton) |
| Fraser, Peter (Angus East) | Stewart, Andrew (Sherwood) |
| Freeman, Roger | Stradling Thomas, Sir John |
| Galley, Roy | Sumberg, David |
| Gregory, Conal | Taylor, John (Solihull) |
| Griffiths, Sir Eldon | Tebbit, Rt Hon Norman |
| Griffiths, Peter (Portsm'th N) | Temple-Morris, Peter |
| Ground, Patrick | Thompson, Patrick (N'ich N) |
| Gummer, Rt Hon John S | Thorne, Neil (Ilford S) |
| Hampson, Dr Keith | Thurnham, Peter |
| Hargreaves, Kenneth | Tracey, Richard |
| Harris, David | van Straubenzee, Sir W. |
| Haselhurst, Alan | Viggers, Peter |
| Hawkins, C. (High Peak) | Waddington, David |
| Hawksley, Warren | Walden, George |
| Heathcoat-Amory, David | Waller, Gary |
| Henderson, Barry | Wardle, C. (Bexhill) |
| Hind, Kenneth | Watts, John |
| Hogg, Hon Douglas (Gr'th'm) | Whitfield, John |
| Holt, Richard | Wilkinson, John |
| Howarth, Alan (Stratf'd-on-A) | Wolfson, Mark |
| Howarth, Gerald (Cannock) | Wood, Timothy |
| Hubbard-Miles, Peter | |
| Hunter, Andrew | Tellers for the Noes: |
| Jessel, Toby | Mr. Donald Thompson and |
| Jones, Gwilym (Cardiff N) | Mr. Archie Hamilton. |
| King, Roger (B'ham N'field) |
§ Question accordingly negatived.