Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

I take what the noble Lord, Lord Lester, said at the start of his speech regarding the fact that he referred to these issues in the earlier debate. However, I want full clarity so that we can have a decent Report stage and shall therefore put my remarks on these amendments on the record so that they can be trawled over for advice outside. One could get the wrong impression with words such as ““shackling”” and ““hobbling””—there was a third but I did not write it down). I therefore make it clear at the start that the Bill extends the powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission—period—and the powers go beyond that of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights in Great Britain. So the commission is not shackled or hobbled; its powers go beyond others in terms of accessing places of detention. As Ministers have said in the past, we have always made it clear that powers would be directed by appropriate safeguards. I have already referred to the role of many existing accountability bodies, and the safeguards would reflect the rights of public authorities to appeal and ensure that the powers were complied with. I also want to make it clear that, once the 15-day period is up, the Bill allows the commission to carry out unannounced and unimpeded multiple visits to the places of detention. It is not a one-off visit and the commission does not have to keep applying—it can carry out unimpeded visits to places of detention without providing advance notice. That significant power should, we believe, be subject to the initial period of consultation with the relevant authority. The issuing of terms of reference and the requirement to allow the 15 days to pass, during which a public authority can appeal, ensure that consultation takes place, as is right and fair. However, once the 15-day period has passed, or after any appeal has started and that period has ended, access to the place of detention can be restricted only after a court has ruled in favour of a public authority. I make it clear that the appeal process cannot be used as a mechanism to prevent investigations, and the court can restrict access only if the commission has failed to meet the clear statutory criteria set out in the Bill. I repeat: this commission is not an enforcement body but it has powers that go beyond those that apply in Great Britain. I made the point about the number of inspection bodies that the Northern Ireland Prison Service has been on the receiving end of in recent times. We believe it is right that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is furnished with the power to carry out unannounced and unimpeded visits to places of detention as part of its investigations into human rights issues, but, on the other side of the coin, the rights and needs of public authorities and the role of other accountability bodies need to be taken into account; hence, the 15-day period and the requirement for consultation so that everyone is satisfied. That is an extension of the powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; it is not hobbling or shackling the commission in Northern Ireland. Clearly, we will listen to what has been said in Committee and will study the Joint Committee’s report, but one has to balance this issue. It involves a major increase in the powers of the Human Rights Commission and safeguards have been built in, as was always envisaged.