HL Deb 30 October 2003 vol 654 cc419-25

1.18 p.m.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill be now further considered on Report.

Moved, That the Bill be now further considered on Report.— (Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.

Schedule 3 [Allocation of cases triable either way, and sending cases to the Crown Court etc]:

Baroness Scotland of Asthal moved Amendment No. 41: Page 190, line 10. leave out ", (1B)

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, Amendments Nos. 41 to 68 are minor consequential amendments. They fall into two groups. Amendments Nos. 41 to 49 relate to provisions which have already been amended by Part 1 of Schedule 3, which is entitled "Principle amendments". These include certain sections of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. All are minor amendments which are either consequential on some other provisions in the Bill or drafting amendments aimed at greater clarity.

Amendments Nos. 50 to 68 are additions to the list of consequential amendments to other statutes in Part 2 of Schedule 3. The great majority of these are to take account of the abolition of committals to trial and of examining justices and the substitution of the new sending procedure. Amendment No. 242 makes corresponding additions, where necessary, to the repeals listed in Schedule 33.

I apologise that it has proved impossible to observe the convention that amendments should be tabled a week in advance. The reasons for that are straightforward. Most of these amendments are consequential and the task of identifying where they are required and drafting the appropriate amendment was very time consuming. This imposed a considerable burden on officials and draftsmen who also had to work on the substantive parts of the Bill, to which they gave priority. I am sure that your Lordships will agree that that order of priority was justifiable. Of the numerous amendments to Schedule 3, none is substantive in nature.

There are a few more trivial, but very worthwhile, improvements to the drafting of the new provisions on allocation and sending. The remaining amendments, which are the great majority, merely amend existing legislation in line with the changes made by Schedule 3— chiefly, as I said, the abolition of committal proceedings and the introduction of the sending procedure for all cases going to the Crown Court. I beg to move.

On Question, amendment agreed to.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal moved Amendments Nos. 42 to 68: Page 190, line 41, leave out "or (2) Page 197, line 12, leave out "or (2) Page 204, line 20, at end insert ", and (b) in paragraph (b), for "subsection (7) of that section" there is substituted "section 51D(1) of this Act".

Page 204, line 21, leave out sub-paragraph (3) and insert— ( ) In paragraph 2—

  1. (a) in sub-paragraph (1)—
    1. (i) after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A",
    2. (ii) for ""subsection (7) of that section" there is substituted "section 51D(1) of this Act",
  2. (b) sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) are omitted.

( ) In paragraph 4, in sub-paragraph (l)(a), after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A".

( ) In paragraph 5, in sub-paragraph (2), after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A".

( ) Paragraph 6 is amended as follows—

  1. (a) in sub-paragraph (1), after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A",
  2. (b) in sub-paragraph (2), for the words from the second "offence" to the end there is substituted "indictable offence for which he was sent for trial or, as the case may be, any of the indictable offences for which he was so sent", and
  3. (c) in sub-paragraph (9), for "indictable-only" there is substituted "indictable"."

Page 204, line 25, at end insert— ( ) in sub-paragraph (3), after "each" there is inserted "remaining",

Page 205, line 3, at end insert— ( ) in sub-paragraph (2)(a), after "each" there is inserted "remaining",

Page 208, line 28, leave out "or (2)

Page 210, line 17, leave out "or (2)

Page 212, line 5, at end insert—

"Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878 (c. 73)

In section 4 of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878 (provisions as to procedure), in the paragraph beginning "Proceedings before a justice of the peace", for the words from the beginning to "his trial" there is substituted—

Any stage of proceedings—

  1. (a) before the summary trial of the offence; or
  2. (b) before the offender has been sent for trial for the offence,".

Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1879 (c. 11)

  1. (1) The Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1879 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 4 (proof that book is a banker's book), the paragraph beginning "Where the proceedings" is omitted.
  3. (3) In section 5 (verification of copy), the paragraph beginning "Where the proceedings" is omitted.

Explosive Substances Act 1883 (c. 3)

In section 6 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 (inquiry by Attorney-General, and apprehension of absconding witnesses), subsection (3) is omitted.

Criminal Justice Act 1925 (c. 86)

In section 49 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 (interpretation, etc), subsection (2) is omitted.

Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (c. 12)

In section 42 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (extension of power to take deposition of child or young person), in subsection (2)(a), for "committed" in both places there is substituted "sent". Page 212, line 27, at end insert—

"Criminal Justice Act 1948 (c. 58)

  1. (1) The Criminal Justice Act 1948 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 27 (remand and committal of persons aged 17 to 20), in subsection (1), for "commits him for trial or" there is substituted "sends him to the Crown Court for trial or commits him there for".
  3. (3) In section 41 (evidence by certificate), subsection (5A) is omitted.
  4. (4) In section 80 (interpretation), the definition of "Court of summary jurisdiction" is omitted.

Prison Act 1952 (c. 52)

Until their repeal by (respectively) section 59 of, and paragraph 10(a)(ii) of Schedule 7 to, the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, paragraph (a) of subsection (1), and paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2), of section 43 of the Prison Act 1952 (remand centres, detention centres and youth custody centres) are to have effect as if references to being committed for trial were references to being sent for trial.

Geneva Conventions Act 1957(c. 52)

In section 5 of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 (reduction of sentence and custody of protected persons)—

  1. (a) in subsection (1), for "committal" there is substituted "having been sent",
  2. (b) in subsection (2), for "committal", where it first appears, there is substituted "having been sent".

Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 (c. 45)

In paragraph 4 of the Schedule to the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 (supplementary procedures as to proceedings under section 2)—

  1. (a) the words "and section 2 of the Poor Prisoners Defence Act 1930 (legal aid before examining justices)" are omitted, and
  2. (b) for "it had determined not to commit for trial" there is substituted "the offence were to be dealt with summarily and the court had dismissed the information".

Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965 (c. 69)

In section 2 of the Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965 (issue of witness summons on application to Crown Court)—

  1. (a) for subsection (4) there is substituted—
  2. (b) subsection (5) is omitted."

Page 213, line 7, at end insert—

"Bail Act 1976 (c. 63)

  1. (1) The Bail Act 1976 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 3 (general provisions)—
    1. (a) in subsection (8)—
      1. (i) for "committed" there is substituted "sent", and
      2. (ii) after "for trial or" there is inserted "committed him on bail to the Crown Court", and
    2. (b) subsections (8A) and (8B), and the subsection (10) inserted by paragraph 12(b) of Schedule 9 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33), are omitted.
  3. (3) In section 5 (supplementary provisions about decisions on bail)—
    1. (a) in subsection (6)(a), for "committing" there is substituted "sending", and
    2. (b) in subsection (6A)(a)—
      1. (i) for "any" there is substituted "either", and
      2. (ii) sub-paragraph (i) is omitted.
  4. (4) In section 6 (offence of absconding by person released on bail), in subsection (6)(b), for "commits" there is substituted "sends".
  5. (5) In section 9 (offence of agreeing to indemnify sureties in criminal proceedings), in subsection (3)(b), for "commits" there is substituted "sends"."

Page 213, line 15, at end insert—

"Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2)

( ) In section 147 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (proceedings for offences), subsection (2) is omitted."

Page 213, line 17, at end insert—

( ) In section 2 (jurisdiction to deal with charges)—

  1. (a) in subsection (3), for "as examining justices over" there is substituted "under sections 51 and 51A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ("the sending provisions") in respect of",
  2. (b) in subsection (4), for "as examining justices" there is substituted "under the sending provisions", and
  3. (c) in subsection (5), for "as examining justices" there is substituted "under the sending provisions"."

Page 213, line 29, at end insert—

( ) In section 128 (remand in custody or on bail)—

  1. (a) in subsection (l)(b), the words "inquiring into or" are omitted,
  2. (b) in subsection (lA)(a)—
    1. (i) "5," is omitted, and
    2. (ii) for "or 18(4)" there is substituted ", 18(4) or 24C",
  3. (c) in subsection (3A)—
    1. (i) "5," is omitted, and
    2. (ii) for "or 18(4)" there is substituted ", 18(4) or 24C",
  4. (d) in subsection (3C)(a)—
    1. (i) "5," is omitted, and
    2. (ii) for "or 18(4)" there is substituted ", 18(4) or 24C", and
  5. (e) in subsection (3E)(a)—
    1. (i) "5," is omitted, and
    2. (ii) for "or 18(4)" there is substituted ", 18(4) or 24C".

( ) In section 129 (further remand), in subsection (4)—

  1. (a) for "commits a person" there is substituted "sends a person to the Crown Court", and
  2. (b) for "committed" there is substituted "sent".

( ) In section 130 (transfer of remand hearings), in subsection (1)—

  1. (a) "5," is omitted, and
  2. (b) for "or 18(4)" there is substituted ", 18(4) or 24C".

( ) In section 145 (rules: supplementary provisions), in subsection (1), paragraph (f) is omitted.

Page 213, line 33, at end insert—

( ) In Schedule 3 (corporations)—

  1. (a) in paragraph 2, sub-paragraph (a) is omitted,
  2. (b) in paragraph 6, for "inquiry into, and trial of," there is substituted "trial of.

( ) In Schedule 5 (transfer of remand hearings)—

  1. (a) paragraph 2 is omitted, and
  2. (b) in paragraph 5, for "5, 10 or 18(4)" there is substituted "10, 17C, 18(4) or 24C"."

Page 213, line 33, at end insert—

"Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c. 47)

In section 2 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (application of procedures and other provisions to offences under section 1), in subsection (2)(g), the words "or committed for trial" are omitted.

Contempt of Court Act 1981 (c. 49)

In section 4 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 (contemporary reports of proceedings), in subsection (3), for paragraph (b) there is substituted—

  1. "(b) in the case of a report of allocation or sending proceedings of which publication is permitted by virtue only of subsection (6) of section 52A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ("the 1998 Act"), if published as soon as practicable after publication is so permitted;
  2. (c) in the case of a report of an application of which publication is permitted by virtue only of sub-paragraph (5) or (7) of paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the 1998 Act, if published as soon as practicable after publication is so permitted.""

Page 214, line 28, at end insert—

"Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20)

  1. (1) The Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 52 (further provisions as to persons remanded by magistrates' courts)—
    1. (a) in subsection (2), for "committed" there is substituted "sent",
    2. (b) in subsection (5), for "committed" there is substituted "sent", and
    3. (c) in subsection (6), for "committed" there is substituted "sent"."

Page 214, line 30, at end insert—

( ) In section 62 (intimate samples), in subsection (10)—

  1. (a) sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) is omitted, and
  2. (b) in paragraph (aa), for sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) there is substituted "paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (applications for dismissal); and"."

Page 215, line 4, at end insert—

( ) In section 21 (interpretation), in subsection (6)(b), for "committed" there is substituted "sent".

Page 215, line 42, at end insert—

"Coroners Act 1988 (c. 13)

  1. (1) The Coroners Act 1988 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 16 (adjournment of inquest in event of criminal proceedings)—
    1. (a) in subsection (l)(b), for "charged before examining justices with" there is substituted "sent for trial for", and
    2. (b) for subsection (8) there is substituted—
    1. (a) before a magistrates' court to determine whether the person charged is to be sent to the Crown Court for trial; or
    2. (b) before any court to which that person is sent for trial."
  3. (3) In section 17 (provisions supplementary to section 16)—
    1. (a) in subsection (2), for "committed" there is substituted "sent", and
    2. (b) in subsection (3)(b), for "committed" there is substituted "sent"."

Page 215, line 44, at end insert—

( ) In section 23 (first-hand hearsay), subsection (5) is omitted. ( ) In section 24 (business etc documents), subsection (5) is omitted. ( ) In section 26 (statements in certain documents), the paragraph beginning "This section shall not apply" is omitted. ( ) In section 27 (proof of statements contained in documents), the paragraph beginning "This section shall not apply" is omitted.

Page 216, line 7, at end insert—

"Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (c. 53)

  1. (1) The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 is amended as follows.
  2. (2) In section 11 (evidence by certificate as to driver, user or owner), subsection (3A) is omitted.
  3. (3) In section 13 (admissibility of records as evidence), subsection (7) is omitted.
  4. (4) In section 16 (documentary evidence as to specimens), subsection (6A) is omitted.
  5. (5) In section 20 (speeding offences etc), subsection (8A) is omitted."

Page 216, line 42, at end insert—

( ) In section 21 (common law rules as to disclosure), in subsection (3), for paragraphs (b) and (c) there is substituted—

"(b) the accused is sent for trial (where this Part applies by virtue of section l(2)(cc)),

Page 217, line 14, at end insert—

( ) in subsection (3), after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A",

Page 218, line 9, at end insert— In paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 (power of justice to take depositions etc), in sub-paragraph (12), for the definition of "the relevant date" there is substituted— "the relevant date" means the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1(1) above.

Page 218, line 18, at end insert— ( ) In section 8 (power and duty to remit young offenders to youth courts for sentence), in subsection (2), for paragraph (a) there is substituted— (a) if the offender was sent to the Crown Court for trial under section 51 or 51A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, to a youth court acting for the place where he was sent to the Crown Court for trial;".

( ) In section 89 (restriction on imposing imprisonment), in subsection (2)—

  1. (a) in paragraph (b), the words "trial or" are omitted, and
  2. (b) in paragraph (c). after "51" there is inserted "or 51 A".

( ) In section 140 (enforcement of fines etc), in subsection (1)(b)—

  1. (a) the words "was committed to the Crown Court to be tried or dealt with or by which he" are omitted, and
  2. (b) after "51" there is inserted "or 51A"."

Page 218, line 23, at end insert— ( ) In Schedule 11, paragraph 9 is omitted.

On Question, amendments agreed to.

[Amendment No. 69 had been re-tabled as Amendment No. 143B.]

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, I beg to move that further consideration on Report be adjourned until after Starred Questions.

Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now adjourn during pleasure.

Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.

[The Sitting was suspended from 1.23 to 3 p.m.]