Schedule 3 - Hunting with Dogs: Prohibition
Hunting Bill
11:00 am
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for stating the Government's intentions. We will be able to explore whether the language of the Bill matches them when we debate the relevant amendments.
I move on to the practical matters, the first of which concerns criminal records, that I was about to discuss before I gave way to a number of interventions. As I understand it—the Minister may be able to respond to this—under the terms of the Bill any criminal conviction will remain on the record of the person concerned for a number of years. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a conviction for which the punishment is a fine normally remains on the record for five years. Even those who suffer a lesser penalty than the maximum fine for which the schedule provides would have to carry that conviction on their record for a certain length of time. For example, a conditional discharge on conviction of hunting with dogs would still remain on the record of the person concerned for a full 12 months. Even an absolute discharge would remain on the record for six months.