Schedule 3
Serious Crime Bill [Lords]
6:30 pm
James Brokenshire (Shadow Minister (Police Reform), Home Affairs; Hornchurch, Conservative)
I shall comment briefly on the amendments. I do not intend to pursue amendment No. 172, which my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) and I tabled, considering the Minister’s trawl through the relevant offences. She will be aware of the debate that took place in the other place on whether the offences in question should just be repealed. It would then be a question of ensuring that all the necessary repeals were picked up.
There is concern about the operation of the schedule and the approach that has been taken, as expressed in the other place. I do not intend to rehearse the points raised there, and I note the Minister’s additional provisions. The risk is that other offences are yet to be discovered, which highlights the issue of certainty and reaffirms the concerns and reservations expressed by their lordships.