Clause 4 - Making and dealing with applications for certificates
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
5:00 pm
David Hanson (Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office; Delyn, Labour)
We are making a lot of this particular aspect, although I recognise the implications for later. The purpose is simply to get the application made. The application is made by the applicant or by someone acting on their behalf, such as a solicitor. When the application is in the system, the response will go back to the applicant. They have made the application or the representative has done so on their behalf. This is simply the trigger to get the process started.
The hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) has made similar points. As an aside, may I congratulate him on his appointment to the shadow Front Bench, which I noticed reported on BBC Ceefax before I came into the Committee today? I think that I will be the first person publicly to congratulate him on that. His contribution to this Committee has obviously drawn him to the attention of the leader of his party, who must be avidly following our proceedings.
I hope that I have answered all the points; I do not want to continue to labour them. This is about the trigger for the application. There are real and genuine issues that Members want to raise later about appearance in court, but this is simply about the method of triggering the application.