My Lords, this group of amendments relates to provisions in Part 6 of Schedule 16 that enable the sharing of data between government departments for the purpose of setting fines and other financial penalties. My noble friend referred to definitions and what is where. I will attempt in my response to Amendment 17 to make clear that, at each stage of the process, access to the data we refer to will be limited to only those with appropriate authority and a genuine need to see the data for the purposes of assisting a court that may wish to see it for sentencing purposes.
My noble friend Lady Hamwee referred to the use of the word “wants” in paragraph 27 of Schedule 16. This is intended to ensure consistency with subsections (1), (2) and (3)(a) of Clause 22. We have not used such words as “requires” or “needs” in the Bill because, technically, the court neither requires nor needs access to information held by the Department for Work and Pensions or HMRC. The information in question could be obtained by other means; for example, by requiring the defendant to provide details of their own financial circumstances. The relevant person “wants” the information because it comes directly from the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC and
this is the most reliable way of giving the court the accurate information about the defendant’s financial circumstances. It may arise that financial circumstances have changed. There will always be provisions within such proceedings to allow someone in such a situation to be allowed to present an up-to-date position of their financial circumstances.
Turning to Amendment 18, tabled by my noble friend Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames, I can confirm that Part 6 of Schedule 16 allows for the disclosure of financial information obtained under these provisions in a summary format. Nevertheless, paragraph 27(7)(b) only allows for the publication of financial information if it is in anonymised form. I remind the Committee that under paragraph 28, the publication of any financial information without lawful authority is a criminal offence, punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment.
The purpose of allowing the publication of summarised financial information obtained under this provision is to allow anonymised financial information to be shared for the purposes of research and statistical analysis. This information will be invaluable in helping to identify trends in the criminal justice system and the financial circumstances of offenders.
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I turn finally to Amendment 19. In practice the information obtained by the court under this provision will be disclosed to the defendant or his representative. Of course, as the noble Lord, Lord Marks, highlighted, the defendant is entitled to know what information the court is relying on in setting his or her sentence and to challenge it if necessary. I can also confirm that a notice will be sent to such defendants, alongside the hearing date notice, informing them that data will be sought on their financial circumstances from either the Department for Work and Pensions or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
As I have already said, if there is a discrepancy between the information that the defendant provides and the information obtained from either the Department for Work and Pensions or HMRC, the court may wish to confirm with the defendant which information is up to date before sentencing. It will then be a matter for the court to decide on what evidence it relies in sentencing the defendant. However, if a defendant does not attend their hearing and does not submit financial information, it is important that the court has the financial information on the defendant before it makes a sentencing decision. I stress that the financial information will not be part of the evidence used against the defendant to secure a conviction, and the court will have sight of it only if the defendant is convicted. If a conviction is secured, the defendant and his or her representative will be able to see any financial information available to the court.
I assure your Lordships’ House that at each stage of the process access to the data will be limited to those with the appropriate authority and a genuine need to see the data for the purposes of assisting a court that may wish to see the data for sentencing purposes. In practice those will be, for example, court officers who are dealing with the case for the purposes of preparing sentencing information for sentencers and, where the defendant is convicted, magistrates or judges. The data
will not be accessible to any member of Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service staff via the IT database on which it will be held.
I hope that in light of these assurances, my noble friends Lady Hamwee and Lord Marks will withdraw or not move their amendments.