Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

Well, not really, because the noble Lord suggests that the provision equates a magistrates’ court with the ““authorised person””. If one looks at the mechanisms behind it, one will see that it is not the magistrates who give the youth conditional caution but an ““authorised person””, who is a constable or an investigating officer—I am interested to see that they could be an officer of Revenue and Customs, though why an officer of Revenue and Customs would give a youth conditional caution to someone of 16 or 17 or under I cannot imagine. Alternatively, it is a person authorised by a ““relevant prosecutor”” for the purposes of the section, the relevant prosecutor being the Attorney-General, the director of the Serious Fraud Office, a Secretary of State and so on. Who decides what conditions are to be imposed? Is it the Attorney-General or Revenue and Customs, or is it just a constable on the beat? If it is a constable on the beat, will they have in front of them all the matters to which the Minister referred in his response? Will he be in the same position as a magistrates’ court, which is filled with trained and experienced people who have real consideration for the problems that young offenders undergo? The authorised person is being asked to lay down conditions. If he goes to his bible, Schedule 18, what does he see? He can give a financial penalty. He might, as the Government have previously suggested, march the young person to the nearest cashpoint and say, ““I want £50 from you; otherwise, you won’t get a youth conditional caution””. There all sorts of ways in which the power may not be employed in precisely the way that the Minister envisages. I do not accept that the discretion given to trained and experienced people in a magistrates’ court is in any way similar to the powers given to a constable or an investigating officer of Revenue and Customs. This is another matter that the Government need to look at again and we shall refer to it on Report. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 108 to 112 not moved.] Schedule 18 agreed to. Clause 99 agreed to. Schedule 19 [Protection for spent cautions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974]: [Amendment No. 113 not moved.]