Written evidence to be reported to the House
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
1:30 pm
Stephen Shaw: I cannot recall a discussion on that particular clause. We had a lot of involvement two or three years ago in the drawing up of the clauses that are before you, so I have no criticism whatsoever of the degree of consultation and involvement. Manifestly, I have not yet persuaded colleagues in the Ministry of Justice about the degree of independence that I called for in answering the questions from Mr. Garnier, but I have no criticism of the process.
In respect of there being no requirement upon the Secretary of State to consult before altering the remit, I suspect that that is simply because it seems to anybody inconceivable that such an action would be taken without some form of consultation. I would not die in a ditch if it was argued that there should be a measure in the Bill to ensure that; I am not going to quarrel with that. I think that it is right and proper that I should be consulted, but whether it is necessary for the Bill to reflect that is a different matter.