§ . Regulations may make provision for or in connection with permitting evidence of a fact relevant to proceedings for an offence under this Schedule, or proceedings in respect of a failure to comply with the provisions of a licensing scheme, to be given by the production of—
- (a) a record produced by a prescribed device; and
- (b) a certificate (whether in the same or another document) as to the circumstances in which the record was produced signed by a prescribed person.").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, Amendment No. 166 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to determine what will be admissible as evidence in civil and criminal proceedings where workplace parking charges have not been complied with, on the assumption that the mayor would proceed with such a scheme.
§ An identical provision is already included in relation to road-user charging and this amendment continues the provision across to workplace parking levies. It will ensure that the evidence that can be presented in a court of law is well-founded. I beg to move.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
696§ Schedule 24 [Further amendments of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998]:
§
Lord Whitty moved Amendment No. 167:
Page 374. line 29, at end insert—
("(7) In paragraph 5(1) (section 1 of the Superannuation Act 1972 to apply to employees of regional development agencies) at the end there shall be added "other than the London Development Agency (for whose employees corresponding provision is made by section 382(1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999)".").
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton) moved Amendments Nos.168–171:
Page 375, line 40, after ("the") insert ("exercise of").
Page 375, line 40, leave out ("are") and insert ("is").
Page 375, line 43, after ("the") insert ("exercise of").
Page 375, line 44, leave out ("are") and insert ("is").
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§ Schedule 25 [The Metropolitan Police Authority: Schedule 2A to the Police Act 1996]:
§
Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendment No. 172.
Page 377, line 24, leave out ("3(1)") and insert ("3(1A)").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I hesitate to say so, following our earlier debates on transition, but this and Amendment No. 177 are two very minor amendments.
§ Amendment No. 172 corrects a cross-reference in Schedule 25 to the Bill that needs updating following the consequential amendment passed at Report. The consequential amendment in question, Amendment No.538D, added a new sub-paragraph (1A) to paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the 1996 Police Act, which made specific provision for the MPA independent member selection panel. In particular, it removed the age limit of 70 for membership of that panel, following our removal of age limits for membership of the MPA itself. This new subparagraph (1A) is referred to in what is now paragraph 106(6) of Schedule 26.
§ Paragraph 3 of Schedule 25 makes provision for the appointment of independent members of the MPA. In sub-paragraph (6) there is a cross-reference to the independent member selection panel provisions in paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the 1996 Act. At present the reference is to paragraph 3(1), but, following the amendment that has been made to that paragraph, the cross-reference should now be to paragraph 3(1A) rather than to paragraph 3(1). Amendment No. 172 rectifies that mistake.
§ Amendment No. 177 is a very tiny drafting change to paragraph 104 of Schedule 26 to the Bill, which covers the national and international functions of the Met. In new Section 96B(1), inserted into the Police Act 1996 by that paragraph, there is a repetitious reference to Section 6(1) of the 1996 Act. Amendment No.177 removes that extra reference, which is unnecessary. I beg to move.
697§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
§
Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendment No.173.
Page 384, line 3. lease out ("follows") and insert ("set out in sub-paragraphs (2) to (6) below").
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, at Report stage a number of government amendments were agreed that made changes to the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1967. That Act governs the payment of pensions and other benefits to staff who are in the Metropolitan Civil Staffs' Superannuation Scheme (MCSSS).
§ In moving those amendments I said that our policy was clear: first, that everyone who had entitlements to benefits under that scheme should retain those entitlements when the Metropolitan Police Authority was established and it took on the employment of the Metropolitan Police civil staff from the Metropolitan Commissioner and Receiver; and, secondly, that the MPA should have the power to continue operation of that scheme.
§ I also explained that the amendments were complex and that we might wish to make some changes to them at Third Reading. We have concluded that the wording could be improved upon and we are accordingly moving this group of four related amendments, Amendments Nos.l73–176.
§ Before I explain what the amendments do, I should like to emphasise that they simply give better effect to the above-stated policy. They do not alter that policy. No one will lose benefits as a result of these changes.
§ In making amendments to the 1967 Act to reflect the creation of the MPA, we need to ensure that all individuals who are currently employed or have been employed either under the Commissioner or Receiver or as an Inner London justices' clerk, but who are not so employed on 3rd July 2000, do not lose any benefits to which they have become entitled under the MCSSS scheme.
§ The amendments passed at Report attempted to achieve this by including such staff as well as staff who on 3rd July 2000 are Inner London justices' clerks or who become MPA employees within the definition of a "member of the metropolitan civil staffs". Those are the people to whom benefits become payable under the MCSSS.
§
The difficulty with this approach is that it makes for a confusing definition of who is a,
member of the metropolitan civil staffs".
§
In particular, it combines both the present and past tenses whereas the definition in the existing Section 15 of the 1967 Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act uses only the present tense. This mixture of tenses could have had unwanted side effects. We therefore decided on a slightly different approach. This approach is to have a new definition of,
member of the metropolitan civil staffs",
§ which relates solely to current employees. It is confined to MPA employees and serving Inner London magistrates' courts staff. This is achieved by Amendment No. 174.
698§ The entitlement to benefits accrued under the MCSSS by staff who are not current employees on 3rd July 2000 and who are not therefore within this definition will instead be preserved by savings provided for in this group of amendments. These savings are set out in Amendment No. 176, which adds four new sub-paragraphs to paragraph 20 of Schedule 26. New sub-paragraph (10) defines the set of staff who will benefit from these savings provisions; namely, persons who cease to be members of the metropolitan civil staffs before what will be Section 305 of the Greater London Authority Act comes into force. That provision is the one which establishes the MPA. Any such staff who have entitlements to benefits under the MCSSS will, by virtue of new sub-paragraph (7), continue to receive their benefits as if the changes made to Section 15 of the 1967 Act had not taken place.
§ Sub-paragraph (8) simply provides that any benefits paid to that category of staff will be paid by the MPA, not by the receiver. Sub-paragraph (9) provides for the limited circumstances under which this category of staff might be moved off the MCSSS. Those circumstances are if they are transferred under powers in the Access to Justice Act or the Greater London Authority Act, which would most likely happen if they were to be transferred to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. As the MCSSS is by-analogy to the PCSPS, this would not result in any loss of benefits.
§ Amendment No. 173 is purely consequential upon Amendment No. 176. The final amendment in this group is Amendment No. 175. This plugs a minor gap in new subsection (2D) of Section 15 of the 1967 Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, as inserted by the amendments passed on Report. That subsection sets out the limited circumstances under which staff might be moved off the MCSSS. One of those circumstances is if powers in the Access to Justice Act are exercised to transfer Inner London justices' clerks on to a new pension scheme. As presently drafted, subsection (2D) identifies one power which could be used to effect such a transfer—paragraph 36 of Schedule 14. However, it is also possible that an order-making power contained in the new Section 50 of the 1997 Justices of the Peace Act, as inserted by paragraph 13 of Schedule 12 to the Access to Justice Act, might be used. Amendment No. 175 therefore adds this reference.
§ I hope that the above provides a reasonably clear explanation of what these amendments achieve. I know your Lordships followed every word. I beg to move.
Earl AttleeMy Lords, I am extremely grateful for the Minister's explanation. These are important issues. We are discussing people's pensions and we are grateful for the effort the Minister made in explaining the need for the amendment.
§ On Question, amendment agreed to.
699
§
Lord Bassam of Brighton moved Amendments Nos. 174 to 177:
Page 384, line 6, leave out paragraphs (a) and (b) and insert ("for sub-paragraph (i) there shall be substituted—
Page 384, line 39, after ("1972,") insert ("section 50 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1997,").
Page 384, line 52, at end insert—
("(7) Nothing in sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) above shall affect the application of section 15 of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1967 in relation to any person falling within subparagraph (10) below.
(8) A pension or other benefit granted or continued to be paid to or in respect of a person by virtue of sub-paragraph (7) above shall be granted or paid by the Metropolitan Police Authority, and accordingly section 15(2)(a) of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1967 shall not apply in relation to such a person.
(9) Section 15(2)(b) of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1967 shall apply in relation to a person falling within sub-paragraph (10) below as if for the words from the beginning to "in respect of members of the metropolitan civil staffs" there were substituted—
(10) A person falls within this sub-paragraph if he ceased to be a member of the metropolitan civil staffs for the purposes of section 15 of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1967 before the day on which section 305 above comes into force.").
Page 399, line 28, leave out ("6(1)") and insert ("6").
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§ 10.30 p.m.
§ Schedule 30 [Transfer schemes]:
§
Lord Whitty moved Amendments Nos. 178 and 179:
Page 420, line 17, at end insert—
("( ) A transfer scheme may make provision for transfers to take effect at such time of day as may be specified in the scheme.").
Page 421, line 41, at end insert—
("( ) A transfer scheme may make different provision for different purposes.").
§ On Question, amendments agreed to.
§
Lord Whitty moved Amendment No. 180:
After Schedule 30, insert the following new schedule—