Compensation Bill [HL]

had given notice of his intention to move, as an amendment to Amendment No. 23, Amendment No. 24:"Line 2, after ““Circuit”” insert ““or District””" The noble Lord said: My Lords, before I turn to Amendment No. 24, I am extremely grateful to the noble Baroness for having taken on board what I think is quite an important issue which was raised in Grand Committee. I am delighted to see that now there will have to be a judicial warrant for the entry and search powers. I tabled two amendments to the provision, Amendments Nos. 24 and 60, which were intended to extend the power not only to High Court judges, circuit judges and justices of the peace but also to district judges. I have, however, been notified by the Bill team that district judges who are appointed to sit in magistrates’ courts—stipendiary magistrates, as we used to call them—are in fact ex officio justices of the peace. Of course, there are other district judges who are not in that position. However, I do not think that it is necessary to press that matter further. I will therefore not press or speak further to either amendment. I greatly welcome these constructive amendments.