Criminal Justice Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 4:15 pm ar 30 Ionawr 2024.
“1 The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 is amended as follows.
2 (1) Section 40 (overview) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (2) after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa) orders applying the notification requirements to persons dealt with in the United Kingdom for certain offences to which this Part does not apply (see section 57A and Schedule 4A),”
(3) After subsection (3) insert—
“(4) Schedule 6A provides for orders applying the notification requirements to persons dealt with for certain service offences to which this Part does not apply.”
3 In section 57, in the heading for “Notification” substitute “Foreign offence notification”.
4 After that section insert—
“57A Domestic offence notification orders
Schedule 4A makes provision for notification orders applying the notification requirements of this Part to persons who have been dealt with for certain offences that are not offences to which this Part applies.”
5 (1) Section 59 (application to service offences) is amended as follows.
(2) The existing provision becomes subsection (1) of that section.
(3) After that subsection insert—
“(2) Schedule 6A makes provision for notification orders applying the notification requirements of this Part to persons who have been dealt with for certain service offences that are not offences to which this Part applies.”
6 (1) Section 61 (meaning of “dealt with” for an offence) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (4)(b)—
(a) for “or” substitute “, paragraph 2(6)(b) of Schedule 4A”;
(b) after “Schedule 6” insert “or paragraph 2(6)(b) of Schedule 6A”.
(3) In subsection (5), at the end of paragraph (a) (before the “and”) insert—
“(aa) paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 4A or paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 6A (conditions for making domestic or service offence notification order where offence dealt with before commencement),”
7 (1) Schedule 4 is amended as follows.
(2) In the Schedule heading for “Notification” substitute “Foreign offence notification”.
(3) For “notification order”, in each place it appears (including in any heading except the Schedule heading), substitute “foreign offence notification order”.
8 After Schedule 4 insert—
“Schedule 4A
Domestic offence notification orders
1 In this Schedule—
“the appropriate court” means—
(a) in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, the High Court;
(b) in Scotland, the Court of Session;
“authorised person” means the Secretary of State or—
(a) in England and Wales, a chief officer of police;
(b) in Scotland, the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland;
(c) in Northern Ireland, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland;
“offence”: any reference to an offence is to an offence under the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (and does not include a service offence).
2 (1) This paragraph applies where an authorised person makes an application to the appropriate court for an order under this paragraph (a “domestic offence notification order”) in respect of a person (“the offender”).
(2) The court must make a domestic offence notification order in respect of the offender if it is satisfied that the following 4 conditions are met (and must otherwise refuse the application).
(3) The first condition is that the offender has been dealt with for an offence (“the relevant offence”) that—
(a) was committed before
(b) is punishable with imprisonment for more than 2 years, and
(c) is not an excluded offence.
(4) “Excluded offence” means—
(a) an offence to which this Part applied when the offender was dealt with (see sections 41 and 42),
(b) an offence in relation to which section 30 or 31 of this Act or section 69 of the Sentencing Code applied,
(c) an offence in relation to which section 31 of this Act would have applied if paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of that section were omitted, or
(d) an offence under section 19, 21A or 39 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
(5) If the offender was dealt with for the relevant offence before the commencement of this Part, sub-paragraph (4) applies as if for paragraph (a) there
(6) The second condition is that—
(a) the offender has been dealt with for the relevant offence in a way mentioned in section 45 (reading any reference to an offence to which this Part applies as a reference to the relevant offence),
(b) the offender was aged 16 or over at the time of being dealt with for the relevant offence, and
(c) the offender—
(i) is imprisoned or detained in pursuance of the sentence passed or order made in respect of the offence,
(ii) would be so imprisoned or detained but for being unlawfully at large, absent without leave, on temporary leave or leave of absence, or on bail pending an appeal, or
(iii) is on licence, having served the custodial part of a sentence of imprisonment in respect of the offence.
(7) The third condition is that the relevant offence has a terrorist connection (see section 93).
(8) The fourth condition is that the period in respect of which the notification requirements would apply in respect of the relevant offence (see section 53) has not expired.
3 (1) A chief officer of police may make an application for a domestic offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in the chief officer’s police area, or
(b) the chief officer believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, that area.
(2) The chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland may make an application for a domestic offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in Scotland, or
(b) the chief constable believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, Scotland.
(3) The chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland may make an application for a domestic offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in Northern Ireland, or
(b) the chief constable believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, Northern Ireland.
4 The effect of a domestic offence notification order is that the notification requirements of this Part apply to the offender.
5 (1) The following modifications apply where a domestic offence notification order is made.
(2) Section 43(1) does not apply to the offender, as regards the relevant offence.
(3) Section 47(1) (initial notification) applies as if the reference to the day on which the person is dealt with were a reference to the date of service of the domestic offence notification order.
(4) For the purposes of section 53 (period for which notification requirements apply), references there to “the offence” are to the relevant offence.
(5) For the meaning of “the relevant offence”, see paragraph 2(3).”
9 After Schedule 6 insert—
“Schedule 6A
Service offence notification orders
1 In this Schedule—
“the appropriate court” means—
(a) in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, the High Court;
(b) in Scotland, the Court of Session;
“authorised person” means the Secretary of State or—
(a) in England and Wales, a chief officer of police;
(b) in Scotland, the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland;
(c) in Northern Ireland, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
2 (1) This paragraph applies where an authorised person makes an application to the appropriate court for an order under this paragraph (a “service offence notification order”) in respect of a person (“the offender”).
(2) The court must make a service offence notification order in respect of the offender if it is satisfied that the following 4 conditions are met (and must otherwise refuse the application).
(3) The first condition is that the offender has been dealt with for a service offence (“the relevant offence”) that—
(a) is punishable with imprisonment for more than 2 years,
(b) is not an excluded offence, and
(c) if a day has been appointed for the commencement of section 1 of the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 as that section has effect for the purposes of section 69 of the Sentencing Code as applied by section 238 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, is committed before that day.
(4) In sub-paragraph (3)(b) “excluded offence” means—
(a) a service offence to which this Part applied when the offender was dealt with (see paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 6),
(b) a service offence in relation to which section 32 of this Act or section 69 of the Sentencing Code applied, or
(c) a service offence as respects which the corresponding civil offence is an offence under section 19, 21A or 39 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
(5) If the offender was dealt with for the relevant offence before the commencement of this Part, sub-paragraph (4) applies as if for paragraph (a) there were substituted—
“(a) a service offence as respects which the corresponding civil offence was on the commencement of this Part within section 41(1) or (2),”.
(6) The second condition is that—
(a) the offender has been dealt with for the relevant offence in a way mentioned in paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 (reading any reference to a service offence to which this Part applies as a reference to the relevant offence),
(b) the offender was aged 16 or over at the time of being dealt with for the relevant offence, and
(c) the offender—
(i) is imprisoned or detained in pursuance of the sentence passed or order made in respect of the offence,
(ii) would be so imprisoned or detained but for being unlawfully at large, absent without leave, on temporary leave or leave of absence, or on bail pending an appeal, or
(iii) is on licence, having served the custodial part of a sentence of imprisonment in respect of the offence.
(7) The third condition is that the relevant offence has a terrorist connection (see section 93).
(8) The fourth condition is that the period in respect of which the notification requirements would apply in respect of the relevant offence (see paragraph 7 of Schedule 6) has not expired.
3 (1) A chief officer of police may make an application for a service offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in the chief officer’s police area, or
(b) the chief officer believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, that area.
(2) The chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland may make an application for a service offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in Scotland, or
(b) the chief constable believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, Scotland.
(3) The chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland may make an application for a service offence notification order in respect of a person only if—
(a) the person resides in Northern Ireland, or
(b) the chief constable believes that the person is in, or is intending to come to, Northern Ireland.
4 The effect of a service offence notification order is that the notification requirements of this Part apply to the offender.
5 (1) The following modifications apply where a service offence notification order is made.
(2) Section 47(1) (initial notification) applies as if the reference to the day on which the person is dealt with were a reference to the date of service of the service offence notification order.
(3) Paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 6 does not apply to the offender, as regards the relevant offence.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph 7 of that Schedule (period for which notification requirements apply), references there to “the service offence” or “the offence” are to the relevant offence.
(5) For the meaning of “the relevant offence”, see paragraph 2(3).””
The new schedule provides for orders applying the notification requirements in Part 4 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 to persons who have committed certain domestic offences or service offences.
Alex Cunningham
Shadow Minister (Justice)
On a point of order, Sir Graham. Is it in order for me to thank you and your fellow Chairs for keeping us in order while still allowing us free-flowing discussions; the Hansard staff and other House staff; our Public Bill Office staff, who always manage to keep me in order; the Ministers for listening and recognising that the Bill has some way to go to satisfy those of us in opposition; and my colleagues and Government Members for their contributions?
I have saved my last comments for the right hon. Member for Croydon South. During our deliberations, he confessed to having some affection for me—I much appreciated that. I had developed an affection for his beard. I had thought that he was trying to rebuild the reputation of the beard within the Home Office after the Home Secretary, having insulting my constituency, was disqualified from the parliamentary beard of the year competition—a competition that I assure the Committee I went on to win. I hope that I can encourage the right hon. Member for Croydon South to reconsider and grow the beard again. He could succeed me next time around!
Chris Philp
The Minister of State, Home Department
Further to that point of order, Sir Graham. I appreciate the shadow Minister’s advice on the beard. Contrary to speculation in the Daily Mail a day or two ago that it was removed for electoral reasons, it was in fact removed following intense lobbying by my daughter, who did not like it very much. Perhaps in the future I can aspire to follow in the shadow Minister’s footsteps as parliamentary beard wearer of the year.
Let me say a huge thank you to everyone involved in this process. We have sat for 16 sessions, including the evidence sessions and our line-by-line consideration—and haven’t they flown by? We have considered 53 new clauses and debated 80-odd clauses in total. May I thank you, Sir Graham, for your benign and benevolent chairmanship, as well as Sir Robert Syms, Ms Bardell, Dame Angela Eagle and Mrs Latham, who have also been in the Chair?
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury, who made what I think was her ministerial debut on a Bill Committee with great aplomb and attention to detail. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall, who has been silent but omnipresent—although he almost broke his silence when I was very nearly late the other day.
I thank both shadow Ministers for their very thoughtful and reasonable points. We have had a constructive debate and there are many areas of common ground where we can work together. I am very grateful to them for that. In particular, I thank the hon. Member for Stockton North; I think this is probably the third or fourth Bill Committee we have worked on together, and my affection for him remains undimmed.
I thank the other Members of the Committee—those who have spoken, and perhaps even more so those who have not. Their contributions have all been very interesting and valued, and on some of the clauses we have had a very well-informed and informative debate. I thank the Committee Clerks; Hansard, who may at times have struggled to keep up with what we were saying; and the Doorkeepers who have superintended proceedings.
I thank the officials in the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office, as well as those in the Department for Transport and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who have worked for a very long time on this Bill, along with our private offices. As hon. Members can imagine, a huge amount of work goes into preparing a Bill like this one. Teams of dozens of people—perhaps even more than dozens—work over many months, and sometimes even years on some clauses. On behalf of hon. Members and the public, I put on the record our thanks to the officials in those Departments for the work they have done. Without their work, legislation like this would not be brought forward.
It remains only for me to say how much I look forward to discussing the Bill further when it returns to the Floor of the House on Report.
Graham Brady
Chair, Conservative Party 1922 Committee
I am pleased to respond that both points of order were in order. I add my thanks to the Clerks, the Doorkeepers, Hansard and all the other staff who have supported the Committee in its work. I had cause to comment during an earlier session on how welcome outbreaks of courtesy in the Committee were, and I repeat that now. It has been a pleasure to chair some of the sessions, which have been good-humoured, constructive and courteous.
