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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, they are trained; they are regulated by the CPS; they are properly managed. They have access to supervision by a trained lawyer all the way through. The new procedure, which noble Lords will be aware of, is that a qualified lawyer will look at each case, will be responsible for the charging decision that is made and will be able to prepare matters in order to decide whether a case is amenable and should be dealt with by a DCW or some other form of representation. The noble Earl’s concerns about management, control, testing, training and ensuring quality are certainly covered by the management structure of the CPS. I remind the House of the National Audit report, which spoke very favourably about the quality of DCWs. I understand the concern that has been expressed, but that concern is not merited. I would like to answer before the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, rushes to his feet. I ask him to give me that courtesy, if he would not mind. In the concerns that have been expressed, the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, raised the issue of the codes within the regulatory framework of the Institute of Legal Executives. As I said, professional integrity is the cornerstone of the current Crown Prosecution Service statement of ethical principles. It is enshrined in the codes of conduct and advocacy of the Institute of Legal Executives. The harmonisation of these codes with those of the institute will ensure that designated caseworkers provide the same ethical safeguards to the court as the other legal professions. It follows, therefore, that compliance with the current and future codes within the regulatory framework of the Institute of Legal Executives takes precedence. Regulation by the institute will be every bit as meaningful and robust for designated caseworkers as it is for barristers and solicitors. I do not envisage any circumstance where a designated caseworker or, indeed, a Crown prosecutor would face criticism from his or her line manager for putting those ethical responsibilities first. In responding to Amendment No. 82, I believe that it is important to emphasise that the CPS voluntarily sought regulation from the Institute of Legal Executives for its designated caseworkers. There is nothing to be gained by placing such regulation on a statutory footing. As I hope I made clear in my letters, to do so would require a significant amendment to the Legal Services Act 2007. At present, and by virtue of the fact that designated caseworkers are granted their rights of audience through statute, they are currently exempt from regulation under the Legal Services Act. This, I believe, was debated when that matter was going through. To amend the Legal Services Act would be disproportionate and unnecessary, given the public commitment of the CPS to working closely with the Institute of Legal Executives to bring about meaningful regulation. I am very happy that the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, referred to that matter in his remarks. Perhaps the overriding concern is reflected in Amendments Nos. 83 and 84. A designated caseworker may deal with cases where the nature of the offence may leave the defendant liable to a sentence of imprisonment. I have made it clear that the Crown Prosecution Service would internally limit the deployment of designated caseworkers, using the DPP’s statutory powers under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to issue general instructions. I remind the House that those instructions have been in situ for the past 10 years; they have worked extremely well and no one has suggested that they have not properly regulated the way in which designated caseworkers have done their jobs. This would have the same practical effect as limiting the clause. I have also made it clear that there would be the added safeguard of the Attorney-General, who would have to consent to any change. I am happy to repeat those undertakings today. However, in light of the concerns that have been expressed both on the last occasion and today, I also propose that an independent review be undertaken by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and that independent advice be provided to the Attorney-General before any decision is made to remove or amend the internal restriction. I hope that this added safeguard will reassure the House on this important point. There would be an independent scrutineer of whether it was appropriate to make a change before any such change took place. An important general point needs to be taken into account in considering the merits of this clause. The ability of the Crown Prosecution Service to grow and encourage the development of designated caseworkers through the Institute of Legal Executives route is one that we should all commend. We have for many years expressed a desire to make the profession more open to both genders and to people from minorities. We know that women and members of the black and minority ethnic community often find it difficult to go immediately from school to university but work very well once they are in a situation where they can be trained and come forward. We have found that designated caseworkers have been a very rich vein. One designated caseworker is now the chief prosecutor in Devon and Cornwall; she is acknowledged to be of real value. There is merit for the criminal justice system. Fellows of the institute who attain the advocate certificate have wide-ranging powers. To limit those powers in the clause would be to miss an opportunity to use their talents to prosecute a wider range of summary trials, including those where imprisonment is a sentencing option. I remind the House that it takes five years of additional training before an ILEX member can get an advocate’s certificate, so that they are fully conversant with all those important technical issues. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, asked about the Magistrates’ Association. He is absolutely right: the Magistrates’ Association expressed anxiety about the move and was antipathetic to it. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, is also right that it spoke about the unamended version of the first iteration of this clause. I have written to it subsequently. I do not have a letter from it, but I understand that in conversations with the CPS it has indicated that it is happier now with the status. However, it still expressed some concerns about the details. I am afraid that I do not have anything in writing, so I cannot tell noble Lords what particular detail might have caused continuing difficulty. The association is certainly happier. The issue about which it was concerned was similar to that voiced in this House about imprisonable offences. I turn, finally, to where we are now. Amendment No. 84A would remove paragraph (d) of the definition of a preventative civil order. The effect of this amendment, which the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, did not speak to, but I assume he still wishes to—