Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 4:30 pm ar 27 Tachwedd 2001.
David Wilshire
Ceidwadwyr, Spelthorne
4:30,
27 Tachwedd 2001
Yes, I wondered whether it was tedious, repetitious or both. I was about to move on anyway, so I shall not chance my arm on that. One of the benefits of having more than one Chairman is that the rule is not so rigidly applied. Nevertheless, I was going to leave the matter even before you asked me to do so, Mr. McWilliam.
I want to refer to subsection (11), which I find curious. I am surprised that it has not cropped up in debate before. It states:
``In deciding under this section whether one amount exceeds another the court must take account of any change in the value of money.''
I suspect that we all know what that means. However, it seems to me that it leaves the interpretation wide open to abuse. I assume that it means that the court may take account of inflation. Despite what the Chancellor has been saying downstairs, it is highly unlikely that the value of money will increase rather than decrease, irrespective of which party is in power. The provision seems to say that the court may take account of inflation between the time when the first order is made and the time when the second is made.
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