Clause 13 - Interest on unpaid sums
Proceeds of Crime Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
We gave an earlier commitment that we would consider redrafting the Bill. In principle, I am happy to look at any redrafting that might make the clause, and the Bill, easier to understand, but I do not believe that that would be the case with regard to the matter under discussion.
That will be established when we discuss clause 24. It addresses a different issue. It deals with situations in which a defendant has persuaded the court to revisit the available amount. In revisiting that, the court must bear in mind what is just. If the court decided that the available amount was half that which was originally decided, it would not be just for it to continue to insist on the payment of the interest on the original amount.
I will study the hon. Gentleman's suggestion, and we will attempt to make matters clearer, if it is decided that that is necessary. However, I believe that those two clauses address separate issues.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 13, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.