§ Lord Campbell-Savoursasked Her Majesty's Government:
What their response is to the Joint Committee on the draft Corruption Bill.[HL580]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalI am pleased to announce the publication of the government response to the Joint Committee on the draft Corruption Bill.
The draft Corruption Bill, which was published for pre-legislative scrutiny on 24 March 2003, was based on proposals from the Law Commission, which were widely welcomed in consultations carried out both by the Law Commission and by the Government. It aims to consolidate and clarify the criminal law on corruption which currently consists of a patchwork of common and statute law, with the latter dating back to 1889.
The Government are grateful for the attention given to this draft Bill by the Joint Committee within demanding deadlines. The response which we are publishing today sets out our reactions to their comments. A revised Bill will be introduced when parliamentary time permits.
The proposed legislation forms part of our commitment to modernise and consolidate the criminal law and should be seen in the context of a multi-faceted strategy to combat corruption. The elements of this strategy were set out in a statement made in another place. Progress has been made since then, not only on domestic law but also as regards the international law on corruption. In particular on 9 December the UK ratified the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and signed the UN Convention Against Corruption.