Clause 7 - Notification of court and date of trial
Criminal Justice and Police Bill
9:55 am
Mr David Lock (Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department; Wyre Forest, Labour)
It might help the Committee if I say a little about the clause's purpose. It will allow a police officer who issues a penalty notice to give the alleged offender a warning notice at the same time. A warning notice informs the offender of where and when the case will be tried, if he opts for a court hearing instead of paying the penalty. In normal circumstances, the police officer will have such details to hand. However, for events such as music festivals or demonstrations, during which the police could reasonably expect to issue some fixed penalty notices, they may wish to set the date and venue of the court hearing in advance for people who challenge offences under the provision.
Amendments Nos. 99 and 100 assist in specifying precisely where and when such a trial should take place, if it is requested by an offender. I explained to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) that the Government have reflected on the matter in the light of the amendments, and are, in principle, prepared to accept the spirit of them. We will table amendments that reflect his improvements. On that basis, I hope that he will not press the amendments to a vote.
Amendment No. 101 would provide for additional requirements concerning the warning notice, although it is likely that they would be used extremely rarely. Other provisions in clause 7 state that the notice should be treated as a summons for the purposes of the application of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 to any further proceedings relating to the offence. They also state that such a summons is to be treated as having been properly served on the recipient by a justice of the peace on the date on which the notice was given.
I hope that Opposition Members do not have any quarrels with the principle of such provisions, although I understand their concern to ensure that the warning notice is a properly served summons. However, it is difficult to see what other prescription they would wish to make about the manner in which the notice is given. If their concern is that the constable serving the notice should make its meaning clear to the offender, the Government are prepared to ensure that that is covered in the Secretary of State's guidance to the police. However, there is little difference between an offender who is issued with a warning notice and an offender who receives a summons through the post and has nobody on hand to explain its meaning.
I assure the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire that the Government are prepared to take such a step, and I hope that he will be prepared to withdraw the amendment.