Clause 36
Policing and Crime Bill
10:30 am
James Brokenshire (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Hornchurch, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for that explanation of the tranche of Government amendments in this group. I hear what he says about judicial oversight and, clearly, that is an issue that we will debate in further detail in other parts of the Bill.
My principal question for the Minister in respect to this group of amendments regards the extension of the ambit of the search and seizure powers by the creation of the new concept of “realisable property”. Can he explain how that definition has been arrived at, and how broad it is intended to be? I hear what he has said about the arguments that have been put to him, by police and other law enforcement agencies, on the need to extend those powers and on the way this has been drawn up, but I would like to understand more clearly how broad the definition of “realisable property” is, because it seems to be very wide in its ambit. Does this provision extend the law significantly, and how will the new clause be applied? What is the actual basis of this provision, and how broad is the definition of “realisable property”, as envisaged by the Government amendments and their practical application?