Serious Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:15 am on 10 July 2007.
Maria Eagle
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
I beg to move Amendment No. 170, in schedule 14, page 121, line 41, at end insert—
‘ (1) This paragraph applies where, in any proceedings—
(a) a person (“D”) is charged in respect of the same act both with an offence under section 41 and with the common law offence of inciting the commission of another offence;
(b) the only thing preventing D from being found guilty of the offence under section 41 is the fact that it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the time when the act took place was after the coming into force of that section; and
(c) the only thing preventing D from being found guilty of the common law offence is that it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that that time was before the coming into force of section 55.
(2) For the purpose of determining D’s guilt it shall be conclusively presumed that the time when the act took place was before the coming into force of section 41.’.
I hope to convince the Committee, in fairly short order, that the amendment will make sensible changes to the present transitional arrangements, as originally proposed by the Law Commission. The transition provisions should set out more clearly what is to happen if it cannot be determined when an act of intentional encouragement took place.
The Committee will remember from our debates on part 2 and Clause 41 that the offence of intentional encouragement was covered by the common law offence of incitement, which criminalised it, but the clause now criminalises both intentional encouragement and assistance; in other words, the intentional encouragement bit of the offence, although new, is continuous. It was an offence under the common law and it remains an offence under the Bill. It should therefore be possible to prosecute an act of intentional encouragement whenever it took place—before or after the commencement of part 2.
The amendment provides that if a person is charged in respect of his conduct with the common law offence of incitement or of an offence under clause 41, and it is not possible to establish whether the conduct took place before or after the commencement of part 2—
Douglas Hogg
Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham
We put our hands up.
Maria Eagle
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
The right hon. and learned Gentleman puts his hands up, which means that I have probably convinced the Committee. This might be the opportunity for me to sit down.
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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.
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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.
James Brokenshire
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)