Prosecutions
Energy Bill [Lords]
3:15 pm
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Shadow Minister, Environment & Transport; Vale of York, Conservative)
This is not a dissimilar point, which may be of some assistance to the Minister and to the hon. Member for Angus. I cannot understand why, having ordered that clause 86 stand part of the Bill, Scotland will have jurisdiction over those devolved powers. Why is there no reference in clause 87 to prosecutions in the Scottish courts? There are no references to the roles of the procurator fiscal, the Advocate-General or the Lord Advocate.
Does the Minister accept that, despite what he said about earlier clauses in part 3, chapter 1 of the Bill, no infringements that apply under Scottish jurisdiction will be prosecuted? Presumably, the Bill should outline the correct procedures of Scots law. The hon. Member for Angus said that this matter has more to do with processes under Scottish criminal law as opposed to English, but from my hazy recollection of Scots law—I practised only briefly, as I moved to practise European Community law, as it was then was, in Brussels—the offences, as well as the processes, are different.
That is a staggering omission. Either the Minister will say that the Scotland Act applies by default or he will have to explain why his Department does not envisage a problem. Obviously, those living in Scotland are very law-abiding, although I represent a seat, Vale of York, that is equidistant from Edinburgh and London. Either the Minister accepts that the Scots are so law-abiding that there will be no prosecutions or he has failed to set out any reference to the relevant procedures and personalities for dealing with such prosecutions under Scots law. Either way, the Committee needs to know this afternoon.