Police and Justice Bill

I share that concern and I was keen to understand the issue when it was raised in my briefing from officials at the Home Office. The assurance that I have been given is that the new codes, particularly the one for the Crown prosecutors, will confront those issues head on. I would like to deal now with new clause 2, the ambitions of which are welcome. As the hon. Member for Mole Valley explained, the new clause is designed to increase the maximum penalty for an offence under section 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which is failing to comply with a requirement to disclose protected information or the key to it. The increase in the maximum penalty would apply in the circumstances set out in new subsection (6) of section 53 of RlPA, including where the offender has a previous conviction for possession of indecent images of a child. The use of encryption is, as the hon. Member for Mole Valley pointed out, proliferating. Encryption products are more widely available and are integrated as security features in standard operating systems, so the Government have concluded that it is now right to implement the provisions of part 3 of RIPA, including section 53, which is not presently in force. The threat to public safety posed by terrorist use of encryption technology was recognised in section 15 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which increased the maximum penalty for the section 53 offence to five years in a national security case. The Government will therefore publish for consultation a draft statutory code of practice for the investigation of protected electronic data and the exercise of powers in part 3 of RIPA. We have previously given an undertaking to bring forward proposals in line with new clause 2 in the context of consulting on the implementation of part 3, and we shall shortly begin those consultations. We remain very sympathetic to what the new clause is designed to do, but we want to allow an opportunity for public consideration and comment on the proposals first, before implementing any legislative changes. On new clause 3, schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 lists the offences for which a conviction, finding or caution will, subject to certain sentencing thresholds being met, result in the offender being made subject to the notification requirements of part 2 of the 2003 Act—more commonly known as the sex offenders register. When schedule 3 was drawn up, we decided not to include the offences under sections 48 to 50 of the 2003 Act because we were of the view that such offences could be motivated by factors such as greed. We did, however, include the offences in schedule 5 to the 2003 Act. Inclusion in schedule 5 means that if there is a demonstrable risk of serious sexual harm from the offenders, courts can make a sexual offences prevention order either when dealing with such an offender or on subsequent application from the police. That order has the effect of placing the offender on to the sex offenders register as well as making him subject to the prohibitions imposed by the order itself. I am, however, extremely sympathetic to the view of the hon. Member for Mole Valley that, while offences in sections 48 to 50 are not strictly sexual offences, those who perpetrate them demonstrate, at the very least, a callous disregard of the sexual well-being of children, pose a threat, and may require the monitoring that registration brings. My officials will therefore review the content of schedules 3 and 5 over the summer. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that his proposals will be central to that review. Changes to schedules 3 and 5 do not require primary legislation and can be made by order subject to affirmative resolution. Instead of making piecemeal changes today, we should await the results of the review and look to make all necessary changes through an order to be laid in the autumn. This morning, after we spoke, I explored precisely what order-making powers are available under section 130 of the 2003 Act. New clause 9 introduces a new power for the police to enter and search the home address of offenders who are subject to the notification requirements of part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. On that point, I associate myself with the sentiments expressed by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield. I also pay tribute to the hon. Member for Mole Valley for the work that he has undertaken. In 2005, he dedicated his private Member’s Bill to this issue, and I very much appreciate the thought that he has given to it. In March, my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East said that although we had previously rejected measures similar to those contained in the new clause, we must keep our position open and under review. In recent months, several developments have caused the Government to review that position. Professor Irving’s report for the Scottish Executive looked carefully at the way in which offenders are managed in the community to minimise the risk that they pose. Professor Irving concluded that a power of entry for the police was necessary. Officials at the Home Office conducted a review of the effectiveness of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, taking into account the views of law enforcement professionals, prosecutors and the courts, and reached a similar conclusion. As the hon. Member for Mole Valley is aware, officials have been working on drafting an appropriate clause, and we are seeking an appropriate legislative vehicle to make the change. I assure him that we are giving these issues very serious consideration, and we hope to be in a position to put something before Parliament in the near future. Government conventions prevent me from going any further at this stage, but I know that he will be aware of programmes in another place. Finally, I want to say a few words about new clause 10. Hon. Members will be aware that the Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides the statutory framework for inter-agency co-operation in assessing and managing violent offenders and sex offenders under arrangements known as multi-agency public protection arrangements. I should like to offer the House officials’ first view of the new clauses drafted by the hon. Member for Mole Valley, which may need further reflection. Under the arrangements, the police and probation services and the Prison Service, supported by additional agencies, work together to manage the risk posed by dangerous offenders to the public. The ““critical few”” offenders who pose the highest risk are referred to a multi-agency public protection panel—MAPPP—where their cases are regularly scrutinised by senior representatives of local agencies. As I understand it, new clause 10 tries to introduce a requirement on all such offenders to ““co-operate”” with any ““reasonable steps”” imposed on them by any responsible authority. That would include the probation and police services and the Prison Service. Failure to do that would be a criminal offence. However, we believe that the new clause may need further reflection because, in a great many cases, MAPPA offenders will be subject to the sex offenders register, a community penalty and/or release from imprisonment on licence. That means that there will already be clear requirements on the offenders, with repercussions if they fail to comply. We would therefore like the opportunity to give the matter further consideration. In the light of those comments, I hope that my assurances will provide sufficient comfort for hon. Members to agree to withdraw the motion but to work with us on implementing their ambitions.