Clause 21 - No order made: reconsideration of benefit
Proceeds of Crime Bill
12:15 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
I was waiting for bright ideas from the hon. Gentleman, and other members of the Committee. I thought that they might sit back and reflect on that point during the Christmas break. I am in no rush to settle on a final form of words. I have received several suggested improvements on the phrase ``criminal lifestyle''. The biggest difficulty is how to define the single lifestyle offences and the repeat offences referred to in the Bill, and all of the suggestions made so far fail adequately to address those matters.
With regard to the point made by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield, the record of the individual concerned would have been investigated. It is unlikely that the situation that he described would arise, but he suggested that he was aware of instances when it had arisen, so perhaps we ought to address the matter.