Written evidence to be reported to the House
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
Public Bill Committees, 18 October 2007, 1:15 pm
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister, Justice; Harborough, Conservative)
I am glad you mentioned that particular aspect of the Bill, as one of my concerns is that from clause 37 onwards, investigations are requested by the Secretary of State. “Request” is an interesting word to use in this context; it seems to be a dressed-up way of saying things that he can tell the commissioner to do. If you look at clause 37, you will see that the Secretary of State will be entitled to
“request the Commissioner to investigate any matter mentioned in”
various subsections of the clause. Essentially, the Bill specifies what the Secretary of State may order the commissioner to do.
I was interested to hear what you said about the nature of the office. The commissioner will have similar powers to a High Court judge, but not the independence. On geographical matters, do you work from an office within the Ministry of Justice or Home Office,or do you have a self-standing building?