HL Deb 26 January 1988 vol 492 cc492-3

2.45 p.m.

Lord Henderson of Brompton

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, whenever a government Bill contains provisions for a code of practice, they will incorporate in the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum to the Bill an explanation of the legal effect, if any, of that code.

The Lord Advocate (Lord Cameron of Lochbroom)

My Lords, as noble Lords will know, we have recently issued guidance to departments on the drafting of statutory provisions relating to codes of practice. The guidance is intended to ensure that the legal effect, if any, of a code should now be apparent from the provision under which it is made. While I would expect that the passage in the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum referring to that provision would normally refer briefly to the legal effect, I do not see any need for the memorandum to duplicate such an explanation.

Lord Henderson of Brompton

My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord for that positive Answer. I also thank him for his responsiveness to a debate in this House which called for clarification of the drafting of codes of practice. Might I ask the noble and learned Lord whether the paragraph in the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum on Clause 27 of the Local Government Bill now before this House should not be the model for the future? If he has been good enough to do that for this particular Bill, I cannot understand—and may I ask him why —he cannot do the same for future Bills as well. It would he a great help to legislators.

Lord Cameron of Lochbroom

My Lords, I am grateful for what the noble Lord said. I pay particular tribute to him and to other noble Lords who took part in that debate as being a spur to the provision of the guidance which is now in the Library of the House. I take the point that the noble Lord has just put to me, and indeed he has referred to the very Bill that we are looking at this afternoon.

The content of a memorandum is obviously the responsibility of the Minister who promotes the Bill. It may well be that the terms of the provision itself make quite clear what the legal effect is. This will be a matter for the Minister promoting the Bill to consider, but I shall certainly draw the attention of colleagues to the point that the noble Lord has made this afternoon.

Lord Paget of Northampton

My Lords, how does one draft an indictment for breach of a code of conduct, and who tries it?

Lord Cameron of Lochbroom

My Lords, I think I would be slow to give the noble Lord advice on the drafting of indictments. I can simply say that I should look to the offence provisions to find the means whereby any offence is to be set out.

Lord Elwyn-Jones

My Lords, is not one of the difficulties of this that codes of practice are somewhat indeterminate bits of the law? For instance, a breach of the code of practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act on the part of a police officer can result in disciplinary proceedings against him, but when one comes to recollect measures like the ancient highway code where this business of indeterminate bits of the law started, breaches of the highway code do not have the force of law but of course they can be taken into account in legal proceedings. It is not a very satisfactory position either for Parliament or for the citizen.

Lord Cameron of Lochbroom

My Lords, I think I would he slow to be drawn further than what I have said already this afternoon, despite the blandishments of the noble and learned Lord. What we are dealing with is what the trigger clause will say, and that will make quite clear what the legal effect, if any, is to be of the code of guidance or code of practice to be issued under it.