Clause 48 - Powers of inspectors
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
10:15 am
Mr Des Browne (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
No. Since the 1998 Act was drafted, those who draft legislation —they provide an excellent service—might have taken the view that what the hon. Lady referred to as a ''bland provision'' is broad enough to cover the exact circumstances that she expects. I do not know whether that is the case, but I can speculate.
We could argue about the interpretation of the clause and what the words ''such document'' in the amendment refer to. By using that expression, the amendment could be seen as referring to the word ''document'' in subsection (2)(b). Those would be pedantic arguments, as the hon. Lady has made the reason behind the amendment clear.
My response to the mischief that the hon. Lady seeks to tackle is that the phrase
''that other information be provided''
covers the eventuality to which she refers and others. If it is appropriate for an inspector to know where such a document may be found, that is merely ''other information'' that they may require, and they have the power to ask for it in the broad terms of the clause.