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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I am grateful to the Minister for his considered reply. We are also very grateful for the way in which the Government have moved from the wide provision originally set out in Clause 191 after consulting with the organisations concerned about children. However, we have not quite got to the end of the matter at all. I take on board the criticism of the noble Lord, Lord Neill of Bladen, on the use of the word ““must””; it might be better to say that the local authority or responsible authority has a duty to consider whether to disclose information. That might make the responsibility a little clearer. As for subsection (2) of new Section 327A, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, rightly raised the difficulties in using the word ““presumption””; other criticisms have been made of my English. Drafting on my knee, I wonder whether it might not be better to say that in a case mentioned in subsection (3), a responsible authority may, in its discretion, disclose information in its possession about the relevant previous convictions of the offender. I see that the noble Lord, Lord Monson, agrees with that quick drafting in order to accord with the rules of the English language. On enforcing conditions against an individual, it is not attractive to propose that the way to do that is to take them to court for breach of confidence and to obtain an injunction against them. For a person to be involved in court proceedings of that nature seems a sledgehammer approach.