HL Deb 18 December 1997 vol 584 cc801-2

4.35 p.m.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Dubs) rose to move, That the order laid before the House on 13th November be approved [14th Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Lord said: My Lords, the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act received Royal Assent on 4th July 1996. It was introduced by the previous government and we were pleased to offer our support. The main provisions of the Act introduce a statutory scheme for prosecution and defence disclosure which were designed to address abuse of the existing disclosure regime while underpinning the rights of the accused in statute. The scheme involves a three-stage approach to disclosure—primary prosecution disclosure, followed by defence disclosure, followed by secondary prosecution disclosure.

Part 11 of the Act requires the Secretary of State to introduce a code of practice for criminal investigators. This provides that relevant material which is obtained in a criminal investigation is retained and revealed to the prosecutor; that material is disclosed to the accused; and that the prosecutor is given a written statement certifying compliance with the code. It also sets out detailed arrangements for the revealing of material and the time for which material must be retained.

The code applies in relation to suspected or alleged offences into which no criminal investigation has begun before 1st January 1998. Where an investigation begins before that date, the police will not be required to comply with the code, even if charges are not brought until after 1st January.

The code relates to investigations conducted by police officers, but other investigators are required by Part II of the Act to have regard to any relevant provision. In accordance with Section 25 of the Act, the code was published in draft form for consultation before being laid before Parliament. Various parts of the code were revised in the light of comments received. The Code of Practice was laid before Parliament on 3rd November 1997.

I commend the order to the House. It provides for the commencement of the code of practice on the date on which Part I of the Act is commenced. The Government intend that that will be 1st January and will proceed with the commencement order for Part I, and related provision to that effect, following approval of the order by both Houses of Parliament.

Moved, That the order laid before the House on 13th November be approved [14th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Dubs.)

Lord Cope of Berkeley

My Lords, now is not the time to go over the code of practice. Indeed, it was the subject of long consultation and has been modified accordingly. However, I should like to ask the Minister whether his colleague the Minister of State had, before signing the order, asked the draftsman whether it would be possible just to give the date on which it begins instead of saying in Article 1 that it. shall come into force on the day specified in article 2 below'", followed by a whole paragraph on Article 2, which actually does not say when it begins but refers one to other legislation, both primary and secondary. It seems an enormously complicated way of saying that the order will begin on 1st January.

Lord Dubs

My Lords, I note the noble Lord's question. All I can say is that we shall bear his comments in mind when considering further orders. I cannot give the noble Lord any help on the history of this order. However, he has made a useful point and it is one that we shall certainly consider.

On Question, Motion agreed to.