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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising the matter. I hope that my muddy explanation helped, at least in part. As I have said to her, the Government believe that it is important to maintain a single legislative framework for international co-operation between criminal justice agencies and for extradition arrangements throughout the United Kingdom. For that reason and for the reason that I mentioned in my intervention, the provision does not transfer any legislative competence from this House to the Northern Ireland Assembly for these matters of extradition. Nor do we intend to do so in any future devolution under section 4(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Instead, the provision is in place to allow Northern Ireland Ministers to assume direct responsibility for those administrative functions that fall directly within their control and which they are best placed to carry out. It may be helpful if I give the hon. Lady an example in relation to Scotland, where criminal justice and policing are the devolved responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. Under the Extradition Act 2003, a guarantee may be needed about the future treatment in custody of an individual being extradited to the UK jurisdiction. In England and Wales, that guarantee will currently be given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on behalf of the British Government. In Scotland, because justice matters are devolved and the Scottish Parliament has taken responsibility for them, it will have to be responsible for any guarantees. At the point in the future when the Northern Ireland Assembly assumes responsibility for criminal justice and policing, there may be areas of administration where guarantees are required under legislation and a British Government Home Secretary cannot not give them because, for example, the Court Service and the Prison Service are devolved matters in Northern Ireland. The legislation framework is a UK framework, which I think is the point that the hon. Lady is most concerned about. That will remain paramount and that is the responsibility of this House, for the United Kingdom as a whole, under its international obligations. However, as now happens in Scotland, the administration of certain aspects of the implementation or operation of the legislation will be the responsibility of the devolved Administration. The purpose of clause 21 is to allow the administrative functions that can be transferred to be transferred, where it is appropriate to do so—at the moment, I do not know all the details of when that might be. When the functions are entitled to be transferred, the Bill will give us the power to do that, without diluting in any way, shape or form the UK responsibility for extradition and for those matters that the hon. Lady remains concerned about. The hon. Lady mentioned the extradition treaty, which, as she said, is not yet in force. Some of its provisions were given effect in UK legislation by the Extradition Act 2003, which came into force on 1 January 2004. For the treaty to come into effect, it needs to secure the advice and consent of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As a Government, we are urging very strongly that that be considered at the earliest opportunity. Obviously, she will understand that it is not within my gift to ensure that a separate legislature, particularly in America, can agree that matter very quickly, but it is the Government’s certain intention to ensure that the treaty comes into effect. Once the United States and the United Kingdom have exchanged the instruments of ratification, the treaty will come into force. I hope that that will happen as soon as possible. I hope that I can reassure the hon. Lady by saying that it is the Government’s intention to make sure that it does. She will know that, in this House, Select Committees take their time to examine issues. The same thing is the case in the United States Senate, but I am confident that this matter will be resolved speedily and I hope that that reassures her on both counts.