Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now again resolve itself into Committee on this Bill. With the leave of the House, perhaps I may make a few remarks before we move into Committee. The first priority of the Government is to ensure public safety and it is with this overriding duty in mind that we have been considering how best to move forward with the Bill. The Government hope that the Bill will receive Royal Assent by 8 May and perhaps I may explain to the House why it is necessary to have such a deadline. The House will be aware that the Bill now includes provisions in Clauses 189 and 190 to restore the statutory provision on inducing prison officers to take industrial action. We have included such a provision in the Bill following the decision of the Prison Officers’ Association, representing prison officers, to withdraw, with effect from 8 May this year, from the existing voluntary joint industrial relations procedural agreement with the Prison Service. I stress that the provisions in Clauses 189 and 190 are a reserve power. In the event of a new voluntary agreement being reached between the POA and the Prison Service, the Bill provides for the statutory prohibition on industrial action to be suspended. We are taking this action to ensure that protections are in place to avoid disruption to the prison estate of the kind we witnessed on 29 August last year. While our preferred solution has been and remains for a negotiated non-strike agreement with the POA, I regret that recent events mean that it is unlikely that any such agreement will be reached in the foreseeable future. The POA special delegates conference on 19 February passed by an overwhelming majority a motion mandating that any further agreement must not constitute a no-strike agreement, nor should it prevent the campaign to fight to regain full trade union rights. It is the Government’s continued hope that the ongoing Ed Sweeney talks will enable more positive engagement between the POA and the Prison Service. However, given the position adopted by the POA at the special delegates conference, it is clear that we cannot responsibly allow for a gap between the termination of the existing voluntary agreement and the statutory bar on industrial action taking effect. The loss of a scheduled Committee day on 20 February to the Banking (Special Provisions) Bill has not helped us to maintain the progress necessary to ensure that Royal Assent is secured by 8 May. In these circumstances, my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Justice, Mr David Hanson, and I have in the past few days been discussing through the usual channels with our Front Bench opposites and their counterparts in the other place how we can speed up passage of the Bill. Noble Lords will be already aware that we have withdrawn Parts 4 and 5 from the Bill, but we have now concluded that it is necessary to withdraw further provisions from the Bill so that we can achieve Royal Assent in good time. Accordingly, I wish to inform the House that we will be withdrawing the provisions relating to criminal appeals in Clauses 42 and 43 and to the prostitution provisions in Clauses 123 to 125. In addition to withdrawing those provisions, we will be bringing forward amendments, either in Committee or on Report, to address matters which have been raised on other parts of the Bill. I am grateful to noble Lords from all sides of the House for their assistance. I hope that we can make the necessary progress so that the Prison Service can continue to operate without fear of disruption from 8 May. Moved, That the House do now again resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Hunt of Kings Heath.)