Clause 39
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
3:15 pm
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
The Committee needs to bear in mind when considering the clause the exceptional and limited role that the Army will play in Northern Ireland beyond the summer of this year. My hon. Friend asked about the role of the reviewer. The reviewer will be asked to respond to three specific areas. First, he will be asked to review the operation of sections 20 to 31, which are the measures that we debated this afternoon. What the reviewer has to say about that will play an important part in the Secretary of State’s judgment on whether to repeal any of the powers. The Secretary of State will consider other matters, too, but the reviewer’s report will be essential in the consideration of whether to appeal any of the powers.
The second role of the reviewer relates to military matters. The clause makes it mandatory on the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland to ensure that he passes over to the reviewer all information relating to the investigation of, and response to, complaints so that the reviewer can be satisfied that the complaints have been properly and adequately dealt with. I expect that those complaints would be few in number by virtue of the fact that the military plays a rare role in Northern Ireland at present. I confirm that the only personnel who would be subject to that would be those who were under the command of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland.
There is a third category of event or circumstance that the reviewer may consider, and that is any specific matter that the Secretary of State asks the reviewer to consider that is not already covered in the first two remits that I have outlined. For example, if the Secretary of State were concerned about the use of baton rounds in a public order scenario, he could ask the reviewer to undertake a piece of analysis and to report back to him. That is a limited role for the reviewer, but it is important both in underpinning public confidence and the confidence of the House in relation to the measures and in informing the Secretary of State and helping him to reach a judgment about when the right time might come to repeal some of the powers.