Clause 3 - Bail elsewhere than at police station
Criminal Justice Bill
5:45 pm
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)
There is a big difference between bail granted by a court and bail granted by a policeman on the street. Over the past few years, the number of charges for offences such as failure to surrender, or failure to surrender at the appointed time, under the Bail Act 1976 has increased dramatically. Will the Minister let me know in writing how many charges have been preferred for those two offences under the 1976 Act in the past 12 months by the inner London magistrates courts?
When a magistrate grants bail, he or she is duty bound, under guidelines issued by the Lord Chancellor, to say to the defendant that they will be granted unconditional bail to appear again at the same place at a specified time, but that if they fail to do so, they will be committing an offence under the Bail Act
1976 and will be likely to be arrested immediately and charged with that offence. The courts find it increasingly difficult to ensure that the message contained in that sentence is completely understood. Sometimes it is deliberately ignored.
An increasing number of defendants who appear before courts in London and other urban areas of the UK do not have English as their first language. Many defendants speak English competently in some respects, but not as their first language., When someone is before them whose first language is not English, the courts are careful to ensure that that person understands exactly what they have been told by the court, and to use an interpreter if there is any doubt. Will the Minister let me know in writing what are the principal 10 languages currently spoken by those in the London area for whom English is not their first language, and how many court interpreters are available in respect of each of those languages in the inner London magistrates courts area? When dealing with a case at 11 o'clock in the morning, it is a problem if there is no interpreter available in a language that is not regularly used. Nevertheless, the courts must get to grips with that and do the best that they can.
I am sure that there has been an increase in charges for offences under the Bail Act 1976 over the past two years, and that trend must be monitored.
On amendment No. 78, I understand that proposed new section 30B deals with a constable in the street bailing to someone to appear at a police station. We have agreed that that is a good idea. However, we must probe a little to establish the content of the notice that will be given to the person concerned. We know that that notice will say that the person has been arrested for a particular offence on specific grounds, and that he or she is required to attend an agreed police station in 28 days. Will the Minister confirm that that notice will also state that if the person concerned fails to surrender at the appointed time, they will be guilty of an offence, and will be liable to arrest?