Magistrates' Courts (Procedure) Bill [H.L.] (Hansard, 21 May 1998)

§ The Lord Advocate (Lord Hardie)
My Lords, on behalf of my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor I beg to move that the Commons amendments be now considered.
Moved, That the Commons amendments be now considered.—(Lord Hardie.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.

§ Lord Hardie
My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1. It may be helpful if I speak also to Amendment No. 2 and explain the changes the two amendments jointly make to Clause 1 and how they improve the procedure which the Bill establishes. Both amendments reflect discussion with experienced practitioners. The Bill found favour in your Lordships' House as a practical measure to reduce delay in summary proceedings under Section 12 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, particularly those for the less serious motoring offences.
Clause 1, as sent to the Commons by your Lordships, amended Section 12 of the Magistrates' Courts Act to allow a guilty plea to be given by the defendant in response to a summons served with a statement of facts as at present or a written witness statement conforming to Section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967. Service of the summons with a written statement is the key procedural change. The considerable advantage of that change is that the written statement can be used in two ways. First, it may be used as an account of the facts of the case when the defendant wishes to plead guilty. In those circumstances the witness statement serves the same purpose as the statement of facts does at present and will be read by the court clerk. Secondly, when the defendant does not respond to the summons the evidence in the statement may be used by the prosecutor to prove the case in the absence of the defendant on the first listed hearing thus avoiding the need for an adjournment.
1765 In the first set of circumstances—when a witness statement is used to give an account of the facts following a plea of guilty—the original draft of Clause 1 would require the court clerk to read out the whole statement. Reading a witness statement will take longer than reading a statement of facts because it is a full account of what the witness saw, heard and did and will have been prepared to prove the case. The statement will include detail which is not required for a guilty plea. In a speeding case, for example, the statement will describe the steps taken to check the accuracy of a calibrated speedometer in a police vehicle. That evidence may be required to rebut any challenge that the equipment is faulty, but it is not needed when the defendant has already pleaded guilty.
Clause 1 as originally drafted would undoubtedly reduce the number of adjournments but each guilty plea will take longer than it does presently if the court clerk is required to read each witness statement verbatim. The cumulative effect of reading each statement in full could reduce the time and costs savings created by the new procedures. That would be an undesirable outcome in a Bill designed to save time and reduce delay.
A number of practitioners, including senior magistrates and justices' clerks, drew the Government's attention to the problem of Clause I as first drafted. The Government considered most carefully the points made by practitioners and accepted that in a guilty plea case a full reading of the witness statement was not necessary and could lead to court time being wasted. Requiring the statement to be read in full after a guilty plea would also mean that the court clerk would very likely have to do more than the prosecutor when proving the case. The prosecutor may, where the court so directs, give an oral account of what is said in a witness statement. Provision for the prosecutor to summarise in this way is made in Section 9(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1967. For those reasons the Government brought forward the amendments which are for consideration today. The practical effect of the two amendments will be to allow the court clerk to give an oral account of, or to summarise, the witness statement when the defendant has pleaded guilty.
Amendment No. 1 stipulates what shall be read by the court clerk in a guilty plea case. This will depend on whether the summons served on the defendant is served with a statement of facts or a witness statement. When the summons is served with a statement of facts the clerk will read that statement of facts to the court. When the summons is served with a witness statement or statements and the court does not otherwise direct, the clerk will read that witness statement or statements to the court. The nature of the direction by the court is the subject of Amendment No. 2.
Amendment No. 2 does two things. First, it provides that when a witness statement has been served with the summons and the court gives the direction mentioned in Amendment No. 1, the court shall cause an account to be given orally before the court by the clerk of the court of so much of any statement as is not read aloud.
1766 The second part of the amendment preserves the provision in the original Bill, that when a written statement is read out, the declaration at the beginning of the statement need not be read out. This is the declaration by the person making the statement to the effect that it is true to the best of his knowledge and belief and that he made the statement knowing that, if it were tendered in evidence, he would be liable to prosecution if he wilfully stated in it anything which he knew to be false or did not believe to be true.
The requirement for the court to give a direction means that the court will control the proceedings and that the clerk may only summarise what is in the statement with the express authority of the court. The Bill as introduced in this House was an eminently practical measure to tackle delay in summary proceedings. The changes made by these amendments reflect the concerns of practitioners. They will further improve the procedure which the Bill establishes and I commend them to your Lordships. I beg to move.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1.—(Lord Hardie.)

§ Lord Kingsland
My Lords, about 97 per cent. of cases heard in our courts are heard in magistrates' courts. A high percentage of those cases are minor summary cases. Nevertheless, they sometimes suffer a number of adjournments. The Bill seeks to reduce those adjournments, and does so successfully. The amendments tabled by the Commons further enhance the effectiveness of the Bill. They are supported by this side of your Lordships' House.
On Question, Motion agreed to.