Clause 14
Serious Crime Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
James Brokenshire (Shadow Minister (Police Reform), Home Affairs; Hornchurch, Conservative)
What an unexpected pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Bercow, on yet another occasion. It has been a great privilege to do so in the past. I shall try my best to ensure that I do not go over any ground that has been referred to before in Committee and I hope that, should I dare stray into that territory, I shall be reminded by the Chair. I shall try to avoid it happening.
The clause relates to the application of serious crime prevention orders in the context of excluded material and banking information. The provision makes it particularly clear that a serious crime prevention order can be used to obtain certain documentation relating to banking business. My questions for the Minister concern the discussions that have taken place with the banking industry or other regulators about the application of the provision. Given this country’s obvious reliance on financial services and balancing the need to ensure that effective measures are in place to control the activities of serious organised criminals, we must have some certainty that industry understands what is going on and what the expectations are.
My reading of the Bill suggests that there could be extraterritorial application and that an international bank could be subject to an order if it were felt that a protective measure was required to prevent someone from committing a serious criminal offence in this country. I understand the intent behind the provision, and the meaning of subsections (3)and (4) under which
“Condition A is that the person to whom the obligation of confidence is owed consents”,
is straightforward if someone has consented to the provision of information required under an order. However, subsection (4) has a wide ambit and says that, if the order requires certain documentation to be provided, in essence the bank or financial institution would have to comply.
It is a matter of clearly understanding the position of the banking industry and commerce. Given the potential sanctions for breach if a bank, company or financial institution were to fall foul of the clause, it would be helpful if the Minister could set out in more detail the application of the clause, and what consultation has taken place with and what representations have been received from financial service institutions as well as from regulators here or internationally that may have been involved in the preparation and consideration of the clause.