Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
10:30 am
Mr Des Browne (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman has some understanding of what is meant by the phrase ''legislative programme'' in the context of this place. What is driving me, as the Minister responsible for the Bill, is a desire to put in place the legislative framework necessary to start practical work on changing the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. There is a commitment that, when appropriate after the 2003 Assembly elections in Northern Ireland, the Government will carry out their intention of devolving responsibility for criminal justice to the Assembly and the Executive. All parties represented in the House, and certainly in the Committee, with one possible exception, share that commitment.
In my discussions with colleagues in the House and with local politicians, there is a clear understanding that certain legislative provisions must be in place as soon as possible, certainly in this Session, if that objective is to be achieved and certain changes are to take place. As was made clear in the implementation plan that accompanied the draft Bill, other review
provisions and recommendations that do not require legislative change have also to be put in place, and we are making progress on those. That is what I mean by the legislative programme so far as it relates to the Bill.
It is worth reminding hon. Members of the extent of the consultation that has already taken place on the criminal justice review, which contains the genesis of most of the provisions of the Bill. The review group undertook an extensive consultation process before producing its conclusions. After its report was published in March 2000, the Government undertook six months of consultation.
The Government have also given the official Opposition extensive access to officials so that the draft Bill could be explained. We have offered such access to all other parties. In my experience—it cannot be contradicted or gainsaid—the amount of access to officials that the official Opposition have had on the Bill is unprecedented.
The most recent consultation period on the draft Bill and implementation plan, which concluded earlier this month, was the third occasion on which people had the opportunity to contribute their views on the review provisions. Nothing in the substance of the Bill should have been a surprise, and I suspect that nothing was. Few new issues, if any, have arisen in the latest consultation process. The periods of consultation to which the review and the Bill have been subject have resulted in a narrow focus on issues of contention. Other issues that affect the Bill require to be examined appropriately in Committee, but the Government think that there is more than enough time to do so.
There is no question that we are inhibiting Parliament's ability to contribute to the Bill. In the history of this Parliament, no legislation has received contributions to the same extent as the Bill. We have made it clear that we would be happy to consider taking any constructive amendments on board in Committee or at any other stage of the parliamentary process. Even the timetabling of the Bill will be kept under review, and we will be happy to discuss with representatives of the other parties in Committee as progress is made.