Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I understand that no amendments have been set down to this Bill and that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to move a manuscript amendment or to speak in Committee. Therefore, unless any noble Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged. Moved, That the order of commitment be discharged.—(Lord Grabiner.)
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, this has been a most excellent debate in every respect. Its succinctness is high on the list of elements about it that I strongly commend. There is one downside to such a debate; that is, that we must not continue being too much in agreement with each other because we should swiftly talk ourselves out of a job. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions, which have been...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I was going to make much the same point. I recollect an ancient story with which all noble Lords will be familiar. Two Jews on a desert island agree that the immediate solution to their problem is to build three synagogues because there has to be one that neither of them will go to. There is more truth in that than noble Lords may imagine. I want to deal with one other point, which...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. The purpose of the Bill is to remove a serious injustice which currently arises because of the interplay between established Jewish religious law on the one hand and our own civil law rules on the other; in particular the rules concerning the grant of a divorce in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The Bill would introduce a...
Lord Grabiner: asked Her Majesty's Government: What has been the impact of the Children Act sub-committee Guidelines for Good Practice on parental contact in cases where there has been domestic violence.
Lord Grabiner: asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have to appoint a successor to Lord Haskins as Chair of the Better Regulation Task Force.
Lord Grabiner: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they intend to change to the level of bereavement damages awarded under Section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and Article 3A(5) of the Fatal Accidents (Northern Ireland) Order 1977.[HL Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.
Lord Grabiner: asked Her Majesty's Government: When they intend to publish a consultation paper on periodical payments for future loss and care costs in personal injury cases.
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I am sure that all of your Lordships believe that individual rights of access to information held by central government departments should come into force as soon as is reasonably practicable. I particularly emphasise the point about the practicalities. A number of other noble Lords have made a similar point. The noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, says that access should be provided in...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, the comments of the Information Commissioner are extremely important and should be taken into account, but she is not the only person who contributes to the debate. The views of the Civil Service and of the administration generally should be taken into account. Everybody involved in the exercise has something to say about how long it is going to take. We would all like to see it...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, the noble Lord will realise that I do not and cannot speak on behalf of the Government. I respectfully suggest that that question is properly directed at my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor. I am sure that he can answer that question; if he cannot, the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Lester, will have considerable force. In conclusion, my final point is in defence of...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, perhaps I may make one or two observations about the proposed amendment. The particular attraction about the provision as drafted is its simplicity. It is clearly drafted. It contains nice round figures that would constitute the penalty to be extracted from the offending employer. I suspect that one of the reasons for the simplicity is to encourage employers who are charged or...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, on the point about the certificate of endorsement, for the sake of the record the first version of the Bill carried the endorsement by my noble friend the Minister to the effect that the provisions of the Bill were compatible with the convention rights. The current version, produced after Committee stage, does not carry that endorsement. Section 19(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998,...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment No. 14. We examined this amendment on the first day of the Committee stage. My instinctive reaction then was that the amendment was unnecessary and that that is still my view. I think that the source of the problem is that the Data Protection Act 1998 is widely misunderstood and that even experienced lawyers are a little nervous of it. I include myself in...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, I shall respond briefly to the noble Earl's observations. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the opening words of Section 3(1), which read: "So far as it is possible to do so". Indeed, I believe that I referred to those words when I drew attention to the provision. However, if it is not possible to do so, the possible consequence is that there would have to be a certificate...
Lord Grabiner: My Lords, perhaps I may raise one matter in direct response to one of the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Higgins. Sometimes it is not possible to detect whether or not a business is a corporate person. A partnership is not a corporate body in English law. Almost certainly a local newsagent is not a corporate body; it is a one-person business. I believe that in a case of that kind, not...
Lord Grabiner: I dealt with the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, in paragraph 7.37. I am not sure that this solution will be remotely acceptable to the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart. There is a division of view on this point on the opposite Benches. In order for a court to impose a sentence of community service, it has to be satisfied that the case would otherwise appropriately be dealt with by a...
Lord Grabiner: I shall be very brief. The reason for brevity, apart from the fact that it is my natural inclination, is that I believe that the debate which may otherwise result from the notice of intention to oppose the Question that Clause 1 stand part of the Bill will be much more fruitful when the Committee sees the wording of the Bill in the light of amendments accepted thus far and the amendments...
Lord Grabiner: At this hour of the night it would be entirely inappropriate for me to have cross words with my noble friend. We can have this discussion elsewhere. In those circumstances, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Lord Grabiner: moved Amendment No. 38: Page 2, line 45, after ("(2B)") insert ("or (2C)").
