§ 7.1 p.m.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield) rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 14th June be approved.
§ The noble Baroness said: My Lords, the order would introduce provisions broadly in line with those already in force in Great Britain in the Criminal Justice Acts of 1988 and 1991 and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992. Its main purpose is to update the maximum fines and other penalties which may be imposed by the courts and to strengthen the law on anonymity for victims of alleged sexual offences.
§ One provision has been added to the order since the draft order was published. The Department of the Environment requested that the order carry additional provisions relating to the forfeiture of vehicles used for committing a crime and the disqualification of drivers who use vehicles to commit assault.
§ I turn now to the main provisions of the order. Article 3 increases various fine maxima. As a consequence, Article 4 makes adjustments to the maximum terms of imprisonment which may be imposed for non-payment of such fines.
§ Article 10 increases penalties for pollution and bomb hoaxes. To cater for the most serious cases, offences of polluting waterways under fisheries legislation are reclassified so that they may be tried in the Crown court. Noble Lords will be well aware of the disruption caused to everyday life in Northern Ireland by terrorists' use of violence. Another means of disruption is the use of bomb hoaxes. The Government take a particularly serious view of that nuisance and have decided to increase the maximum penalty on summary conviction from three to six months and on indictment from five to seven years. That is in line with recent changes for England and Wales.
§ Articles 11 to 17 make amendments to the powers of courts to deprive offenders of property used in crime and to award compensation to their victims.
§ I am sure that noble Lords will join with me in welcoming Part III of the order, dealing with anonymity in cases of rape and other sexual offences. The provisions will provide victims with the protection of anonymity from an earlier stage than is currently the case. It is hoped that the provisions will also encourage more victims to come forward and report offences to the police. It has been widely recognised that fear of publicity is often a factor influential in discouraging victims of sexual offences from reporting offences to the police.
§ The order is short and its provisions diverse. However, I hope that noble Lords will agree that it strengthens and improves the criminal law in Northern Ireland by balancing tougher penalties for offenders within provisions which recognise the needs of, and allow greater compensation for, the victims of crime. I beg to move.
425§ Moved, That the draft Order laid before the House on 14th June be approved.—(Baroness Denton of Wakefield.)
§ Lord Morris of Castle MorrisMy Lords, the House will be grateful to the Minister for explaining the order in words which seem strangely familiar to me. I have read it carefully; it was fully considered in another place on 7th July, when my honourable friend the Member for Kingston Upon Hull North broadly welcomed the order, as I do.
§ Lord Holme of CheltenhamMy Lords, I must apologise to the Minister for not being in my place when she rose to speak a moment or two ago. Her deftness and speed at the Dispatch Box were such that I was not able to keep up. In my view, and in that of other noble Lords on these Benches, the order rightly extends anonymity to victims of alleged sexual offences other than rape while abolishing the defendant's right to anonymity in rape cases.
It seems to me that the justifications for anonymity being extended to alleged victims of rape are that the legal process can be seen as so traumatic that actual rape victims may be discouraged from coming forward and that alleged rape victims may be ill thought of. I believe that that argument extends quite easily to other sexual offences, so that extending the right of anonymity to other victims seems to be justified.
However, I should like briefly to raise with the Minister the counter question of removing the defendant's right to anonymity in rape cases, which seems far less clear cut. The Minister will be aware that in more than 60 per cent. of reported rape cases the defendant and plaintiff are acquainted. Therefore, in such circumstances, a right of anonymity for the plaintiff can be very seriously undermined if the name of the defendant is made public.
I believe that the low conviction rate in rape cases has led to a certain amount of public mistrust as regards the ability of the courts to punish rapists. There are cases of men accused of rape being found not guilty and yet, subsequently, facing discrimination in their workplace and losing their reputation as though they had somehow slipped through the net. It is clearly extremely damaging to be accused of being a rapist; indeed, in some ways, it may be more damaging—in fact, totally so—than to be marked as having been raped. I simply raise such matters for the Minister's consideration. I have no intention of opposing the order. I believe that the extension of anonymity to victims is wholly desirable.
However, I have one further question to put to the Minister. Given the fact that the recent amendment to the criminal justice Bill for the rest of the United Kingdom recognises male rape, is it the Government's intention that a similar amendment will also be made for Northern Ireland?
§ Baroness Denton of WakefieldMy Lords, I thank noble Lords for their comments. I quite understand that the speed of this evening's proceedings on Northern Ireland rather contrasts with that of yesterday evening. I am most grateful to the welcome given to the order. 426 Indeed, much that is already in law as regards Great Britain does extend to Northern Ireland, However, we have our own body of law in Northern Ireland.
I can tell the noble Lord, Lord Holme of Cheltenham, that the Secretary of State would give separate consideration as to whether Northern Ireland should follow in due course the changes made on the question of rape in England and Wales. In that consideration, I am sure that the Secretary of State will take into account the very serious matters raised by the noble Lord. Having said that, I commend the order to the House.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
§ [The Sitting was suspended from 7.8 to 8 p.m. ]