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Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2005

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. The noble Lord said: I beg to move that the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. It is part of the Government’s proposals for legislative reform of the criminal justice system. The order provides for a variety of improvements to the criminal law in Northern Ireland; some are procedural; and some are policy. The order will help tackle anti-social behaviour and crime. It will provide new powers and procedures for criminal justice agencies and hopefully create more efficient criminal justice processes for both defendants and agencies. In many respects, it will bring Northern Ireland legislation up to par with the law in England and Wales. The proposals for the draft order were consulted on for 12 weeks between March and June this year. Fifteen responses were received, most of which welcomed the proposals. Differing comments were made on the proposals in relation to anti-social behaviour legislation. Some welcomed the proposals, the commitment that the Government are giving to tackling anti-social behaviour and the support this gives to communities and victims. Some expressed concern regarding anti-social behaviour legislation overall, commenting on the legislation that is already in place and there are those who take the view that such legislation has an adverse impact on children and young people. The Government believe that the anti-social behaviour legislation and the orders remain a necessary component of the overall response to tackling the growing incidences of anti-social behaviour across Northern Ireland, as indeed the rest of the country. ASBOs will continue to help safeguard the rights of ordinary citizens to live peaceful and law-abiding lives without fear of harm or intimidation in their own community. I accept that others take a different view. There are some legal challenges to this, so it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it. The draft order provides the courts and prosecutors, the police, prisons and probation with additional powers and procedures. It improves current legislation on anti-social behaviour. It will also help the fight against drink-driving. It will also help the Assets Recovery Agency to tackle organised crime even more effectively. It is very much a miscellaneous order. I turn to the key features of the order. Apart from its introductory section and schedules, the order has six broad sections—the anti-social behaviour legislation, prisons law, proceeds of crime, youth justice, road traffic and a miscellaneous section. The anti-social behaviour provisions include an enabling power for the Secretary of State to designate additional authorities to make application for ASBOs; an interim anti-social behaviour order on conviction; an appeal mechanism; and arrangements for adjournment, variation and discharge of ASBOs on conviction. There are additional provisions to protect vulnerable or intimidated witnesses in ASBO proceedings; and it extends discretionary reporting restrictions to 17 year-olds when this age group comes within the ambit of the youth court. For prisons, the provisions focus largely on improving and updating current prisons and life sentence law. These include: the re-naming of prisons boards of visitors as independent monitoring boards—as is the case in England and Wales—and the removal of prisons boards of visitors’ rarely used or obsolete powers to reflect the new status. There are two separate and largely technical amendments in life sentence legislation and legal aid provision. On proceeds of crime, the Government propose additional powers for the Assets Recovery Agency in its fight against organised crime in Northern Ireland. A power will be created to allow investigators to obtain information on the details and contents of safe deposit boxes. Solicitors’ orders, currently available only in confiscation investigations in criminal matters, will be extended to civil recover investigations brought by the Assets Recovery Agency. On youth justice, an adjustment to the timing within which reparation, community supervision and youth conference orders will allow the court more flexibility. A change to ensure that 17 year-olds will continue to be remanded, where appropriate, to a young offender centre will permit the expansion of the youth court to include 17 year-olds. Expansion was recommended by the Criminal Justice Review arising out of the Good Friday agreement and will bring the youth court in Northern Ireland into line with that in England and Wales. Two procedural adjustments to current provisions relating to pre-sentence reports and ASBO reporting restrictions, which I have already outlined, to extend to 17 year-olds will improve youth court procedures. On road traffic, provisions improving the ability to take specimens of blood from those suspected of drink-driving are being created. What is currently a temporary arrangement for the funding derived from fixed penalty notices under the safety camera scheme and its use to reimburse authorities for their expenditure will be firmly established in law. Again, these provisions are already in force in England and Wales. Finally, a series of miscellaneous provisions creates a number of new powers covering bail, legal aid in extradition, arrestable offences and information for victims. The bail adjustments will facilitate police, defendants and those standing surety and will also save court time. Additional police powers of summary arrest in certain sexual offences will bring Northern Ireland law into line with that of England and Wales. The power for the Secretary of State to create a victims’ information scheme in probation cases will further extend the services available to victims across the criminal justice system. In conclusion, across the order, anti-social behaviour and crime are being addressed and drink-driving powers are being extended. The criminal justice system will be made more efficient; for example, in court procedures, bail continuity and road traffic funding arrangements. Victims will have additional protections and information and defendants will have further rights of appeal and legal aid. I am pleased to bring forward these proposals. I commend them to the Committee. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2005.—(Lord Rooker.)