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

My Lords, this gives us an opportunity to look at what a penalty notice should contain. One of the major problems arising under fixed penalty notices, which we have always opposed in my party, is that they allow what amounts to an offence brought to justice to be recorded against an individual. There are specifically notifiable offences for which penalty notices can be issued: under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, under Section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act, for theft under the Theft Act and for the possession of cannabis, in particular. An acceptance of a penalty notice is recorded and notifiable; presumably, it remains on some form of list or computer record. If that is so, I should like to know for how long. Can these penalty notices be used as part of an individual’s record against him in future proceedings, both for the purposes of proving guilt under the provisions which permit that or in the fixing of a penalty? I think that that is the case; I wait for reassurance on that. If it is the case, then the penalty notice itself should make it absolutely clear to an individual that by accepting such a notice and paying what amounts to a minimal figure of £80 or £50—which must be very attractive to an individual who would otherwise lose a day’s work to go to court and contest something—he may cause considerable prejudice to himself, not just in the event of any future proceedings but in applications for jobs, if such a record is recorded and can be produced. It is a serious matter. The current statutory provisions to which the Minister referred require a penalty notice to state the offence, give particulars, specify the suspended enforcement period during which the penalty notice can be paid, state to the justice’s chief executive where the penalty may be paid, and inform the person of their right to ask to be tried for the alleged offence. As regards penalties, all that is required under Section 3 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 is for the notice to, ""state the amount of the penalty"." That legislation extended the use of penalty notices way beyond what was initially intended when they were introduced for littering and other minor matters. A person may be issued with a penalty notice, as I have said, for something that may count against him in the future—either as regards jobs or possible further proceedings. If I am right in that, will the Minister consider whether the consequences of accepting a penalty notice after this addition should be on the face of a form—in whichever form a police force decides to issue it. That is my main concern. My secondary concern is that if you send police officers out on the street with an electronic device to give out notices, such as the devices carried by traffic wardens, there is an enormous temptation to use them in circumstances when police action would not normally be taken. The notices can be issued like confetti—not just to the perpetrator of a particular offence, who, for example, is causing a disturbance, but to the people standing around nearby. They may be dragged unwittingly into a system which is highly prejudicial to them. It is extremely important that the Government review the way in which these penalty notices are being used, report to Parliament on how many are being issued and on whether there has been an increase as a result of the passing of this statutory instrument, report that they have looked at the forms that individual police forces use around the country and state that they are satisfied that the forms comply with the Act as it stands and that, as I argued in my main point, they give fair notice to people of the consequences of accepting a penalty notice, as opposed to contesting it—with all the trouble that that involves. These are the assurances that I am looking forward to hearing from the Minister.