Clause 31
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
8:00 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I have listened very carefully to the hon. and learned Gentleman; I think that there is a proviso in subsection (3) to give the commissioner the discretion to waive the time limits where it seems appropriate to do so. My concern is slightly different. I agree with him about the three-month period; I am not so sure about the 12 months’ initial complaint limitation, but three months following the response is a relatively short time, particularly in the context of many of the people who find themselves on the prison estate.
My question to the Under-Secretary of State for Justice is different. Perhaps she will be able to help me by pointing out where else in the statute or in other regulations is the time limit for the responsible authority to respond to the initial complaint. Because, in the provision it would be perfectly possible for a not very responsible authority to delay its response to the person to the point where the complaint became time barred under subsection (2)(a). I can find no requirement in this part for the delivery of the responsible authority’s response to the substance of the complaint. As I say, that may be elsewhere in the complaints procedure or the Bill, but I am not sure where and I hope that the Minister may be able to help.