Schedule 1 - Constitution of public benefit corporations
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford, Conservative)
Will the Under-Secretary clarify a point in her winding-up speech? I am not a lawyer; therefore I need help. I want to check that there is not a serious drafting problem in paragraph 5(2)(b), which states:
''A person may not be a member of a public benefit corporation if—
(b) he has within the preceding five years been convicted in the British Islands of any offence if a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of three months (without the option of a fine) was imposed on him.''
What happens if the sentence of imprisonment is six months, 12 months, two years, five years or 10 years? Is paragraph 5(2)(b) drafted so as to mean that people are excluded if they have only had a prison sentence of three months imposed on them, or is there some legal technicality that means that that sub-paragraph covers those who have had a sentence of three months or more imposed? Is the word ''minimum'' missing by mistake?