Clause 33 - Pensions etc
Fire and Rescue Services Bill
9:25 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
We have moved on from the lengthy subsection (2) to subsection (6). This modest pair of amendments seeks to probe the Under-Secretary for an explanation as to why a different regime of imprisonment on summary conviction is provided for in England and Wales as opposed to Scotland. That is, of course, not a devolved matter, so it seems inappropriate that the penalty for a United Kingdom offence should be different depending on which constituent country of the UK the offender lives in. It is not at all clear why people residing in England and Wales should, on summary conviction, be subject to a prison term four times longer than that for someone residing in Scotland. The amendment would standardise the treatment of offenders in England and Wales with that in Scotland. I await with interest the Under-Secretary's explanation of the discrepancy in the Bill.