Dear Colleague,
POLICE, CRIME, SENTENCING AND COURTS BILL: GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS IN THE LORDS
Ahead of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill returning to the Commons in the new year, we are writing to let you know of some of the changes to the Bill we are bringing forward at Lords Report stage.
This Bill has the ambition of making our country safer by backing our police; preventing and cutting crime; and introducing tougher sentencing for the worst offenders. Having reflected carefully on the debates in both Houses, we will be tabling a number of government amendments to the Bill to further achieve these aims.
Harper’s Law
I know that MPs from across the House will want to share our support for the family and friends of PC Andrew Harper and their campaign to strengthen the law so that no other families go through the same heartbreak they have suffered. As you know, we committed to looking at what action may be possible in this area and considered the proposals put forward by Andrew Harper’s family carefully. We are pleased to announce that we will table a government amendment which will extend a mandatory life sentence to offenders found guilty of unlawful act manslaughter of an emergency worker who is acting in the exercise of their functions. This sentence would apply in cases where the victim was an emergency worker (defined in the same way as the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018) and was acting in the exercise of their functions. It will apply to 16 and 17-year-old offenders as well as adults, and will include a judicial discretion to impose a different sentence in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Child cruelty
Tom Tugendhat MP has campaigned tirelessly for years for “Tony’s Law”, named after Tony Hudgell. Having committed at Commons Report to looking carefully at this issue, we are pleased to say we have achieved that ambition, with great thanks to him for his support in this matter. Our amendment will amend section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 to increase the maximum penalty for the offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult from 14 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment; and the maximum penalty for the offence of causing or allowing a child or vulnerable adult to suffer serious physical harm from 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
We will also add the offence of causing or allowing the death of a 2 child or vulnerable adult to Schedule 19 to the Sentencing Act 2020 (which sets out a list of offences where, in certain circumstances, a life sentence is mandatory) and go further by increasing the maximum penalty for the offence under section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 of cruelty to a person under 16 from 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
Serious Violence Duty – application to domestic abuse and sexual offences
The Government remains absolutely focused on tackling violence against women and girls. There is no place in our society for these abhorrent crimes. We will table amendments to clarify that the definition of violence for the purposes of the serious violence duty includes domestic abuse and sexual offences. Serious Violence Duty – Sharing of patient information We recognised the concerns raised that the information-sharing gateway, as it is currently drafted, could be used to share personal medical information and could risk undermining trust between doctors and their patients. We will table amendments to provide that the information sharing provisions in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Bill do not authorise or require the disclosure of patient information or the disclosure of personal information by a health and social care authority.
Public order
Recent actions by Insulate Britain have further demonstrated the need to ensure that public order legislation strikes an appropriate balance between protecting the rights of protesters and those of the wider public adversely affected by protest activity. The irresponsible actions we have seen in recent months around the M25 and elsewhere have put police officers’ and the travelling public’s (and indeed the protesters themselves) at serious risk of harm, as well have bringing unacceptable disruption to those simply wanting to get to work or otherwise go about their daily lives. These actions are wholly unacceptable and it is for that reason, as I (Home Secretary) set out in October, we need to strengthen the measures in the Bill to ensure that the police have the powers they need to tackle such highly disruptive protests and protect the public.
The Government has therefore brought forward new measures in response to the significant disruption caused, these measures are as follows:
• Wilful obstruction of highway – increasing the maximum penalty to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, an unlimited fine, or both and to make clear that this offence can still be committed even if the highway has been temporarily closed beforehand.
• Offences related to locking on – creating two new offences designed to deter individuals from ‘locking on’ and ‘going equipped to lock on’. Locking-on is the tactic in which protesters attach themselves to other individuals; objects; or land, or attach objects together; or to land, creating an obstruction which causes serious disruption and is difficult and time consuming for the police to remove.
• Obstruction of major transport works – creating a new offence of obstructing the construction or maintenance of major transport works. • Interference with use or operation of key national infrastructure - introducing a new offence of interfering with the operation of key infrastructure, such as the strategic road 3 network, railways, sea ports, airports, oil refineries and printing presses, carrying a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
• Powers to stop and search – extending existing stop and search powers to allow for the search and seizure of objects made, adapted, or intended for use in the course of specified protest related offences. There will be both a suspicion-led power, based on section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and a suspicion-less power, based on section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
• Serious Disruption Prevention Orders – introducing a new preventative court order – the Serious Disruption Prevention Order (SDPO), aimed at tackling repeated highly disruptive behaviour by prolific protestors.
Driver disqualifications
We are tabling an amendment that deals with driver disqualification periods with the aim of improving road safety. The amendment increases the minimum driver disqualification periods from two to five years for the offences of:
(i) causing death by dangerous driving, and (ii) causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, and increase the minimum period for repeat offending in relation to the latter offence from three to six years.
The Bill already increases from 14 years to life the maximum custodial sentences for these offences and this amendment builds on that measure to send a clear message about the serious nature of these offences. Judges will retain discretion to impose a shorter period of disqualification, or not to impose any disqualification, if there are special reasons in any given case for doing so.
Assaults on retail workers
The Government shares the concern that was expressed at Commons Report stage, and again in the Lords, at assaults on retail workers. It is totally unacceptable that retail workers should find themselves subject to abuse, when they play such an important role providing a service to the public and to local communities. Accordingly, we will be bringing forward an amendment to put into statute the aggravating factor currently set out in the Sentencing Council’s guidelines. This will apply to all workers providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. As such, the statutory aggravating factor will apply to a wide range of workers and will not be limited to retail workers.
This will be a very clear statement of the seriousness with which these crimes are viewed and complements ongoing work and engagement with the retail sector and police. With the exception of the amendments relating to driver disqualification (which will apply to Great Britain), these amendments will apply to England and Wales only. We hope you will welcome these amendments when the Bill returns to the Commons in January and we look forward to debating the Bill with you for its final remaining stages.
