Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Bill

My Lords, all I can say to the noble Lord is that I think that we are closer now than we were then. But I take the point very seriously and, when I read through my notes coming into the Chamber, I spotted the point that the noble Lord has drawn very clearly to our attention. It is one that I shall ensure we pursue vigorously so that we get some better, more definitive answers in the course of our further deliberations. The noble Lord, Lord Wedderburn, in his usual forensic way, made reference to employees and servants of the Crown and contractors. I shall consider very carefully the point that the noble Lord raised, but I am not sure that there is in fact a gap with regard to the provision of fire and rescue services. Clause 1(2)(a) and (b) covers employees of the fire and rescue authorities, employees of other bodies and Crown servants whose duties cover extinguishing fires. So I am not convinced that there are independent contractors carrying out those services. However, I shall look into the issue further. Of course, the order-making power in Clause 5 could be used to plug any gap that might exist. I hope that that gives the noble Lord, Lord Wedderburn, some comfort. I shall certainly carry out some further inquiries. The noble Lord, Lord Morris, pointed out that a large number of appropriate offences are already in existence to deal with violence, threats of violence and damage. Assaults on public service workers are taken seriously by the prosecuting authorities and we will work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure cases of assault or obstruction of emergency workers are rigorously pursued. It is certainly worth drawing the attention of noble Lords to the British Crime Survey, which provides some valuable data on threats of violence and physical assaults on workers. In particular, it provides more information on different categories of public service workers who are the victims of assaults. I have some data here that I am more than happy to share with the noble Lord outside the Chamber. It would be rather complex to go through them in the debate today. It may be worth saying, too, that courts take assaults on police officers very seriously. My study of crime statistics says that some 5,700 convictions were achieved in the last year for which I have figures for assaults against police officers. It is right that other service workers enjoy similar protection, which is why the Government are inclined to be as persistent as they are on this issue. We take it very seriously indeed. The noble Lord, Lord Morris, raised the issue of burdens of proof. I assure him that the offence does not raise the burden of proof, which is as always on the prosecution. The standard is the normal standard—beyond reasonable doubt. One reason why the Bill does not cover assault is to avoid making assault more difficult to prove, as I said in my opening comments. Common assault will be available without proof that the victim is an emergency worker and is responding to emergency circumstances. I think that I have covered the main points raised in my concluding comments and my general commentary on the Bill. It goes without saying that we want to see the Bill on the statute book. We are conscious of the tightness of the parliamentary timetable at this time of year. I am sure that, given the good will that the Bill has received from all quarters in your Lordships' House today, it will find its way on to the statute book.