Orders of the Day — Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Bill – in the House of Commons at 3:31 pm on 20 January 1997.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.
The new clause would introduce some useful procedures to assist the operation of the courts in relation to precognitions.
John McAllion
, Dundee East
May I be the first to congratulate the Minister on belonging to a family with such sound political judgment. I understand that his big brother the duke attacked the Tory party this morning and I am sure that that was welcome news throughout Scotland. Even better news was that his younger brother is a member of Scotland United and a strong supporter of a Scottish Parliament.
The Minister has stated that he sent a letter to hon. Members explaining that, because of the changes brought about by the legislation, there were likely to be more precognitions under summary proceedings and that, as a result, some witnesses would fail to attend. He wrote that it was therefore important that the prosecutor should be able to impose fines on those who failed to attend. Why has the defence not been given the same facility as the prosecutor?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
If a serious crime is being heard and key Crown witnesses fail to attend, the prosecutor has a right to ask the police to collect them and those people have to explain their non-attendance to the court. That practice has operated for years. The new Clause deals with the fact that there is no direct statutory punishment for failing to attend a citation for precognition under solemn procedure. Under summary procedure— where there are few precognitions—a provision for punishment exists. That is an anomaly, and we feel that there should be consistency between summary and solemn procedure in such cases. The new clause would make it an offence to fail to attend for precognition in solemn procedure.
Menzies Campbell
Shadow Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)
The point made by the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) was that this right is not available to the defence. Very often during the preparation of a proper defence, solicitors charged with that responsibility have great difficulty in persuading witnesses to make themselves available for precognition. The very sensible point put by the hon. Member for Dundee, East is that if one can go to court to get a warrant on behalf of the prosecution in relation to a witness who will not present himself for precognition, why should not a similar right be available to the defence?
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
If the hon. and learned Gentleman had served on the Committee and tabled an Amendment, I would have been only too happy to consider it. It is necessary to consult the judges on such issues and to come to a considered view, and there may be time for the matter to be considered during further debates on the Bill. In a serious case—such as a murder case—the prosecutor has the right to make such a request to the court if any key witnesses do not turn up.
John McAllion
, Dundee East
Nobody is questioning the right of the prosecution to seek such a warrant. We are asking about the right of the defence. I take it from the Minister's last answer that it will be possible to table an Amendment during the Lords' consideration of the Bill to give the same right to the defence, and that the Government will accept it.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
, Edinburgh West
Section 291 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 already contains the procedure for defence witnesses. I recommend that the hon. Member for Dundee, East and the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East study that section. If they are dissatisfied with its terms, we can consider the matter further.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
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They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
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As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
