HL Deb 16 February 1978 vol 388 cc1535-7

4.18 p.m.

Lord MELCHETT rose to move, that the draft Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, laid before the House on 7th February, be approved. The noble Lord said: My Lords, this order will extend to Northern Ireland provisions similar to those of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, which have applied in Great Britain since 1st July 1975. It will enable people who have been convicted of relatively minor offences, and who are not re-convicted for a period of time, to have their slate cleared. This means that, for most purposes in law, they may act and must be treated as if their past conviction had not taken place. In the terms of the order, such a conviction becomes "spent". A conviction only becomes spent after a certain amount of time—called the "rehabilitation period"—has elapsed; and only if the convicted person has not committed further indictable offences within that time.

I believe that this order will be a valuable addition to Northern Ireland law. This House has already agreed that people in Great Britain who have made mistakes in the past should be given the opportunity to put those mistakes behind them and start afresh. This is particularly important for young people, who should be allowed to live down offences that they committed before reaching maturity.

It is, of course, true that in some areas, such as criminal courts, it is important to know an individual's full background; and the order allows for such exceptions. It is also true that when people apply for some jobs, such as police work or in the medical profession, their full background must be known. Provision for exceptions of this kind will be made in an exceptions order which will come into operation at the same time as the order before the House today.

As I have said, this order simply extends to Northern Ireland. The similar legislation is already in force in Great Britain, and I have no doubt that this significant law reform measure will be welcomed in Northern Ireland. I beg to move.

Moved, That the draft Rehabilitation of Offenders, (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, laid before the House on 7th February, be approved.—(Lord Melchett.)

Lord HAMPTON

My Lords, may I raise one point. The object of the order is to help offenders not merely to live down their past but to forget it. To that end, the slate, as the noble Lord says, is to be wiped clean—but is it? After an admittedly long period of rehabilitation—according to Table A, page 6, of between five and 10 years—no mention of the offence will then be made in any way.

I would ask: is any official record—and I refer to page 12, paragraph 10(1)—kept permanently? If so, what extremities must occur before the information can be divulged? My own feeling is that, while one wants to give an offender every chance, in certain circumstances it could be naive to pretend that the offence never took place.

Lord MELCHETT

My Lords, as I said in introducing the order, the intention is to allow people to forget their offences and to have their slates wiped clean. But, quite clearly, as in the legislation which is now in force in Great Britain, there are exceptions to that and I mentioned some of them in my opening remarks; for example, if an individual appears before a court again, or if an individual applies for some job—and I mentioned police work and the medical profession.

It certainly is the case that permanent records containing information on convicted persons are kept in Northern Ireland, as they are in Great Britain, by the courts and by the RUC—and the police in this country. This information is made available only by court officials, or by police officers in the exercise of their official duties, and in accordance with the requirements of the Act that is in force in Great Britain, or in accordance with the requirements of the order which will be in force in Northern Ireland. I understand that guidance has been given in Great Britain to police officers and to the courts about the requirements of the Act, and in what circumstances this information may be divulged in the performance of their official duties. Similar guidance on the interpretation of the order will be made available in Northern Ireland.

Lord BELSTEAD

My Lords, I wonder whether I may just ask the noble Lord this question: Will the exceptions to the order be in line, also, with the exceptions to the Act in Great Britain?

Lord MELCHETT

Yes, my Lords, that is the case.

On Question, Motion agreed to.