Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:00 am on 6 December 2001.
Mr George Foulkes
Minister of State, Scottish Office, Minister of State (Scotland Office)
11:00,
6 December 2001
The purpose of Amendment No. 166 is to make it absolutely clear that there is an obligation on the prosecutor to give the court a statement of information in every case in which he is seeking a confiscation order within a period specified by the court. Amendment Nos. 167 and 168 are purely drafting amendments.
Amendment No. 169 inserts a cross-reference to Clause 102 to ensure that the prosecutor receives notice of the accused's response to the statement of information no later than six months before the end of the postponement period, which is a maximum of two years. That is designed to ensure that the final confiscation hearing can take place before the end of the postponement period. Amendment No. 170 is also a purely drafting amendment and is designed to bring the wording of clause 106(4) in line with that of clause 19(5).
Clause 105 gives the accused the opportunity to contest the prosecutor's allegations in the statement of information that is provided under clause 104. Clause 106 empowers the court, at any stage in the confiscation proceedings, to order the accused to provide information that it needs to enable it to carry out its confiscation functions. The power is important and flexible and may be used by the court, for example, to require the accused to provide further information about a point in the prosecutor's statement. The power reproduced in clause 106 has proved useful in practice.
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.
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.
