Legislative Reform (Revocation of Prescribed Form of Penalty Notice for Disorderly Behaviour) Order 2009

My Lords, I thank the Minister for not only the detailed explanation but his demonstration in producing one of the necessary books. As he explained in his introduction, these penalty notices for disorder—I shall refer to them, as did the Minister, as PNDs—are a way of dealing with minor criminal offences without the need for prosecution and court proceedings. As he pointed out, fixed penalty notices have existed for many years. They were introduced for litter and noise offences in the 1990s and were applied to other offences by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. That Act sets out some 21 offences for which PNDs can be issued. The Minister was at pains to stress that these notices are used as a way to streamline the disposal of minor offences but that, of course, the option is still there for a person issued with a notice to elect for court proceedings if they so wish. As regards this order, the noble Lord has explained that, because PNDs are issued by means of a paper notice, the exact form of which is prescribed in regulations under Section 3 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act, officers must carry with them books containing four different types of ticket—one each for upper and lower-tier offences for adults, and one each for upper and lower-tier offences for juveniles. I think that all noble Lords will agree that that arrangement is overcomplicated and unsatisfactory. As the Minister tells us that most police forces have now developed electronic hand-held devices in the form of personal digital assistants—or PDAs, as we may call them—for use by officers, it seems sensible to de-prescribe the form in which the notices must be issued. Where the Government are prepared to reduce regulation, cut red tape and apply some common sense, we are only too glad to support those efforts. Sadly, we do not see nearly enough of that. However, I have a few questions for the Minister about the more general application of the disorder notice scheme. This order has been presented by the Government as a way to simplify how penalty notices are issued. However, I would like an assurance from the noble Lord that these measures, which facilitate the use of electronic equipment, will not lead to an unnecessary increase in the database state. The Lord Chancellor, the right honourable Jack Straw, announced last month that the Office for Criminal Justice Reform will be reviewing the use of fixed penalty notices by the police. Which specific areas of the penalty notices for disorder scheme do the Government expect to be reformed, and is this one of the areas that they have looked at? Can the Minister please also inform us about the consultation that took place, and when it was conducted? My colleagues in opposition have raised repeated concerns that the Government’s persistent use of fixed penalty notices is letting certain criminals off with what amounts to a glorified parking ticket. We believe, absolutely, that it is vital that people are innocent until proven guilty, and I seek assurances that the streamlining of the regulation is designed to assist police efficiency and that this order is not being used to up the number of notices issued. If the Government are thought to be using penalty notices to raise revenue rather than to check crime, they will only be undermining their own rather weak record in that area.