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Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Youth Conditional Cautions: Code of Practice) Order 2009

My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bach, for presenting these instruments, but I share the concerns expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Seccombe, and the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford. I see there being a risk of injustice. I have read the letter from the Magistrates’ Association and it causes me concern. I agree of course that it is appropriate to use this sort of instrument for minor offences, as long as we can be sure that they are minor offences. However, as the Magistrates’ Association points out, there is very little monitoring of these out-of-court disposals, so we do not know whether they are being applied to minor offences, and the association’s own study indicates that there is wide disparity in their use. These fines do not take account of the means of the offender to pay. As a result, more than 50 per cent of all fines imposed out of court are not paid, so there is the additional disadvantage that magistrates’ courts end up having to tidy up, which produces a drain on their already stretched budget. Can the Minister say what support is being offered to magistrates’ courts to deal with this additional burden? As the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, said, the orders appear to give considerable additional powers to the police. It concerns me that the necessary monitoring is not there to ensure that the provisions are applied in a consistent and just manner to those involved. I look forward to the Minister’s response.