Violent Crime Reduction Bill

My Lords, I am glad that the noble Baroness found plenty of other things to do in August; she probably had a much happier time not using all her downtime to seek out all the references to guidance that have been made during the Bill’s proceedings. Amendment No. 10 seeks to ensure that guidance will be issued to set out the factors that the court should have regard to in respect of whether applications for renewal of an interim order should be granted. I understand that the concern arises that courts could continue to renew interim drinking banning orders without a final hearing ever taking place. The noble Baroness has rightly encapsulated my own concerns about this matter at an earlier stage. The maximum duration of an interim drinking banning order is limited to four weeks. An interim drinking banning order may be renewed once or more but not for longer than four weeks from the time when it would otherwise have expired. It must in any event cease to have effect on the court’s decision on whether to make a drinking banning order. While it is technically possible for an interim drinking banning order to continue to be renewed, this should not happen in practice. It hardly seems the best use of the courts’ time—or, indeed, the police or a local authority’s time—and it seems extremely unlikely that the courts would continue to renew interim drinking banning orders. It is right that the interim process should be exactly that and that authorities are obliged fully to satisfy the court by making a proper application for a permanent drinking banning order. Drinking banning order guidance will make this very clear. We have already given a commitment to issue such guidance. This is why an amendment which seeks to ensure the Secretary of State issues guidance is unnecessary. I do not see any need for a reference to guidance in the Bill. I should also add that the Government have given a commitment to the Lord Chief Justice that we will consult the judiciary on the draft drinking banning order guidance. There are also several safeguards in place. An interim order will not take effect until it is served personally on the subject. Court rules will make this clear. Applications can be made to vary or discharge an interim drinking banning order if an individual believes that it has been wrongly imposed, at which point the court would have to hold a hearing to consider whether to vary or discharge the interim drinking banning order. As I sought to explain in Committee, the detail for such orders will be set out in the magistrates’ courts rules and in guidance, so coverage of this issue is very much on our ““to do”” list. I can understand the noble Baroness’s irritation but I hope that she does not feel the need to press the amendment this afternoon.