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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, Clause 117 is a very progressive and well justified measure. It is perfectly true, of course, that the more serious offences—we know that many such offences are committed on NHS premises and against NHS personnel—can be dealt with quite adequately under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The beauty of Clause 117 is that one can intervene at a much earlier stage to prevent what might be a very serious fracas developing. I welcome, as does the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, the fact that this measure has now been extended to Wales. Whether this is NHS legislation that borders on the criminal, or criminal legislation that borders on the NHS is a somewhat moot jurisprudential point. It does not really matter. Massive executive responsibilities in relation to the NHS have been with Wales ever since the devolution process of 1964 began. They were devolved, after 1998, to make this matter the prerogative of the Welsh Assembly in relation to executive decisions. Now we have Part 3 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, in Schedule 5 of which NHS functions belong to an area where the Welsh Assembly could initiate a procedure that would enable an Order in Council to grant it a swathe of authority and jurisdiction. As yet, it has not done so. In a perfect world, I would love to have seen the Welsh Assembly take this initiative, provided of course that the provisions came into force no later than the provisions in this Act. There is no earthly reason why NHS personnel in Wales, vulnerable as they are, should not have the same protection as they have in every other part of the United Kingdom. I make a slightly technical, constitutional point here. During the passage of the 2006 measure through this House, an undertaking was given which, I think, was the equivalent of an undertaking given in the context of Scotland: that there would be a convention whereby this House, although of the parent Parliament, would have absolute sovereign authority to intervene in any matter relating to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but would not do so in regard to any function that either had been transferred or was intended to be transferred. Therefore, in future, I very much hope that the initiatives will come from the Welsh Assembly Government themselves. I think there are three matters in the pipeline now, one already having been passed by this House. Under Part 3, I understand there are about 20 more on the shopping list, and they take quite some time to be heard. I very much hope that the Welsh Assembly will, in so far as it is practicable, take those initiatives. I trust that this House will be loyal—I am certain that it will be—to that undertaking that it will intervene in such matters only at the request of the Welsh Assembly.