Moved by
Lord Faulks
52: Clause 25, page 23, line 7, after “constable” insert “listed in subsection (3)”
Lord Faulks: My Lords, I will speak also to Amendments 53 to 56, 58 and 59. Amendments 52 to 55, 58, 59 and 185 reflect discussions on the territorial extent of the offence within both the UK Government and the devolved Administrations. Amendment 56 is a minor technical amendment to ensure that the director-general of the National Crime Agency is included among the categories of person to whom the offence applies.
I shall deal, first, with Amendment 56. As Clause 25 currently stands, the offence extends to all NCA officers who are designated by its director-general as having the powers and privileges of a constable. However, the director-general can also be designated with those powers and privileges by the Secretary of State. To ensure that the director-general is also covered by the offence, Amendment 56 therefore provides that any NCA officer designated as having the powers and privileges of a constable, whoever designates them, will be within the scope of the new offence.
The remaining government amendments in this group would extend the offence to cover the whole of the United Kingdom. The offence will not apply to the officers of either Police Scotland or the Police Service of Northern Ireland, responsibility for which is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, the devolved Administrations are content for us to extend the geographical coverage, so that officers of English and Welsh forces, the national
forces, as well as the officers of the National Crime Agency who are designated with police powers, are subject to the new offence throughout the UK, including territorial waters—in effect, wherever they operate.
I should at this point address the issue of devolution. The national police forces are the reserved responsibility of the UK Government, wherever they operate, as are the 43 police forces of England and Wales. There is therefore no need to seek legislative consent in respect of officers of these forces. The position of the National Crime Agency is more complex. While the agency’s director-general is accountable to the Home Secretary, there are, in relation to oversight, various responsibilities of Ministers in Edinburgh and Belfast. This reflects the position that the agency operates in devolved, as well as non-devolved, areas.
The Scottish Government have sought the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament for these amendments. The Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament has recommended that the legislative consent Motion should be agreed, which is due to happen next week. While I have no reason to believe that that will not happen, in accordance with convention I undertake that, should consent be refused, I will bring forward appropriate amendments at Third Reading.
The position in Northern Ireland is less straightforward. At present, NCA officers do not have police powers in Northern Ireland. However, we remain hopeful that agreement can be reached to confer police powers on NCA officers in Northern Ireland. Therefore, with the agreement of the Executive, we consider it prudent to provide that the offence will extend to NCA officers when they receive police powers in Northern Ireland.
Schedule 24 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013 sets out the mechanism to confer additional functions and powers on the NCA and its officers in Northern Ireland and requires the explicit agreement of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Northern Ireland Executive are content that, if and when an order is made under Schedule 24, the application of the new offence, as an additional safeguard, will be regarded as an ancillary matter and will not require explicit consent. However, this is a technical area and we are still in discussion with the Northern Ireland Executive on the detail, so we may need to table clarificatory amendments at Third Reading.
Amendments 52 to 56, 58, 59 and 185 will ensure that all the officers of the national forces and those of forces in England and Wales are covered by the offence anywhere in the UK. Officers of the National Crime Agency designated with police powers will also be covered by the offence within the limits of their designations. For those reasons, I beg to move.