HL Deb 14 July 1999 vol 604 cc484-5

(". In the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, alter section 125B (inserted by section 72(2) above) insert—

"Disclosure of information for enforcing warrants.

125C.—(1) Basic personal information held by a relevant public authority may, on the application of a justices' chief executive, be supplied by the authority to him (or to a justices' clerk appointed by, or member of the staff of, his magistrates' courts committee who is specified in the application) for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of a section 125A(1) warrant which is so specified.

(2) In this section— basic personal information" means a person's name, date of birth or national insurance number or the address (or any of the addresses) of a person; relevant public authority" means a Minister of the Crown, government department, local authority or chief officer of police specified in an order made by the Lord Chancellor; and a section 125A(1) warrant" means a warrant to which section 125A(1) above applies and which has been issued by a justice of the peace to whom the justices' chief executive making the application is chief executive.

(3) Information supplied to any person under subsection (1) above, or this subsection, for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of a section 125 A(1) warrant may be supplied by him for that purpose to—

  1. (a) any person entitled to execute the warrant;
  2. (b) any employee of a body or person who, for the purposes of section 125B above, is an approved enforcement agency in relation to the warrant; or
  3. (c) any person who is the justices' chief executive, a justices' clerk or a member of the staff of the magistrates' courts committee whose justices' chief executive made the application for the information.

(4) A person who intentionally or recklessly—

  1. (a) discloses information supplied to him under this section otherwise than as permitted by subsection (3) above; or
  2. (b) uses information so supplied otherwise than for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of tine section 125 A(1) warrant concerned,
commits an offence.

(5) But it is not an offence under subsection (4) above—

  1. (a) to disclose any information in accordance with any enactment or order of a court or for the purposes of an y proceedings before a court; or
  2. (b) to disclose any information which has previously been lawfully disclosed to the public.

(6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) above is liable—

  1. (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or
  2. (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(7) The power to make orders conferred by subsection (2) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.".").

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 123. I should like to speak also to Amendments Nos. 124 and 125. These amendments are designed to help track down a missing fine defaulter or community service dodger by enabling the courts to check whether other government agencies hold a more recent address for the offender in their records. Barriers to information sharing are among the biggest obstacles to effective enforcement. Over £50 million in fines was written off in 1997–98 alone, and it has been estimated that inability to trace the offender could account for as much as 30 per cent of the total. The Government believe it is quite unacceptable that offenders should be able to get away with their crimes while the taxpayer has to foot the bill.

Amendment No. 123 will therefore enable the courts to obtain basic information about offenders from relevant public authorities for the purpose of warrant execution. Amendments Nos. 124 and 125 are consequential. I commend the amendment to the House.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 123.—(Lord Falconer of Thoroton.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

11.45 p.m.