Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

My Lords, in earlier debates on the Bill we discussed the need to ensure equality of arms before the law and the wider principles surrounding access to justice. I support Amendment 172B, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, has spoken so effectively, and the linked amendments, all of which promote a particular aspect of access to justice—that is, the need to ensure that people of all abilities are able to understand the criminal justice system, be they the victims or the perpetrators of crime. I warmly support the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and we are all indebted to him for bringing his wealth of experience to our debates on these matters. Amendments 172B and 173 would amend Clause 61, which places a duty on courts to give reasons for, and explain the effect of, sentences that they hand down to perpetrators. The clause outlines a duty on the court to explain in ““ordinary language”” the court’s rationale for arriving at a particular sentence. ““Ordinary”” is a relative term. The amendments add that the language should be, "““appropriate to the intellectual ability and understanding of the individual offender””—" that is, to ensure that the court recognises the need to adapt its means of explanation in cases where an offender has a disability or learning difficulties. I should declare my interest as a patron of Mencap Cymru. Our justice system should be both accessible and comprehensible, and steps should be taken to ensure that victims and perpetrators of crimes understand the implications and the gravity of the crime committed. If this is not done, there is every risk that the perpetrators in question may not be amenable to successful rehabilitation and will regress into committing similar crimes in future. Amendment 178ZA would amend Clause 86 of the Bill, which makes provision for a court to impose conditions on a child who it has remanded to local authority accommodation. The clause also states that the court may impose certain requirements on the child if they are being granted bail, including, in some cases, electronic monitoring. Under subsection (7), it is stated that when a court imposes conditions on a child or varies those conditions, the court must explain the rationale behind this in ““ordinary language””. There again, that troublesome phrase crops up. Amendment 178ZA would clarify that the language needs to be appropriate to the intellectual ability and understanding of the individual child. The necessity of using appropriate language is surely overwhelming when considering situations that hinge on the well-being and the education of impressionable children. Amendments 181 and 182 centre on a related, though slightly different, issue. They would amend Clause 118, which itself makes amendments to the Prison Act 1952 in respect of the employment and payment of people in prison and those detained in remand centres, secure training centres and young offender institutions. Subsection (2) provides that the Secretary of State may continue to make rules about the employment of persons who are detained in secure training centres or young offender institutions. Subsection (4) inserts a new section into the 1952 Act which similarly confers new powers on the Secretary of State to make rules about the employment of prisoners. Perhaps not enough attention is always focused on the importance of employment in prison. Society is still divided on the purpose that prisons fulfil. However, if we are to take steps to ensure that prison is anything other than an expensive means of giving society a break from criminals, we must invest time and effort in ensuring that those incarcerated use that time constructively to learn about the benefits of a life without crime and to understand the implications of the crimes they have committed. This avenue should be available to all prisoners. That is why Amendments 181 and 182 seek to add further paragraphs to this clause to ensure that the Secretary of State must also make rules about, "““(c) the availability of support to carry out employment; and""(d) the availability of support to understand the terms of employment in prison””." These amendments, if accepted, would go towards certifying that all those incarcerated in our criminal justice system have the same opportunity for rehabilitation regardless of ability. Finally, Amendments 184 and 185 seek to amend Clause 124, which sets out the anatomy of youth cautions. Clause 124 repeals Sections 65 and 66 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, hence abolishing the final warning scheme. It instead inserts new Section 66ZA, which establishes a new out-of-court disposal for young offenders—the youth caution. New Section 66ZA sets out that a constable may give a child or young person a youth caution if the youth has admitted to committing an offence and if the constable decides that the youth should not be prosecuted. The section outlines that if a constable gives a youth caution, they must ensure that the implications of the youth caution, and the reasons for issuing it, are explained in—once again—““ordinary language”” to the person or, if they are 17 or younger, the appropriate adult accompanying them. Amendment 184 would leave out ““ordinary language”” and insert instead: "““in an accessible way that may include, but will not be limited to, simple use of language””." The amendment therefore has the effect of ensuring that most disabilities are catered for. Amendment 185 also ensures that the constable would have a duty to explain the reasons for issuing the caution, as well as the implications of the caution, to an appropriate adult not only if the child is younger than 17 but if the child, "““requires support to communicate or understand the process””." This would make sure that children who have a disability or impairment which would hinder their understanding of the process would not be left disfranchised by the criminal justice system simply because of their age. Taken together, these amendments succeed in widening access to justice and expanding the clarity of our justice system for people with disabilities. It is only common sense that they should be taken on board. In no way do they undermine the objectives of the Government in the Bill. I urge the Minister to accept them or, at the very least, to undertake to consider them between now and Report to see how these objectives can best be achieved.