Violent Crime Reduction Bill

moved Amendment No. 117:"Page 26, line 14, after ““is”” insert ““capable of being made””" The noble Baroness said: In moving this amendment I shall speak also to Amendment No. 150. I am somewhat struck that we have few devotees of the Bill in the Chamber at this time of night. The majority of my colleagues on these Benches are in a much better place, celebrating a special event for my noble friend Lady Thatcher, so I wish them well in their absence. I am sure their good wishes are with me, but not their votes. I am aware that on the other side several colleagues of the noble Lord on the Front Bench are not exactly away from the House, but are upstairs watching an important football match. I understand that the Minister has made sure that we will be kept informed of vital developments, for which I am most grateful. These probing amendments on Clause 23 have been tabled to ask just how available for use a weapon has to be in order for a person to be guilty of the new offence in this clause. I should make it clear that I support the creation of the new offence of using an accomplice to conceal weapons. We accept that there is evidence that a number of cases are not proceeded with for lack of a weapon, so it is hoped that this provision might assist in the conviction of more criminals. It is certainly always a worry when someone uses a person uses a child to mind weapons for him. Subsection (1) of Clause 23 provides that it is an offence for a person to use someone else to hide or carry a dangerous weapon so as to make the weapon available to the first person for an unlawful purpose. Subsection (2) then sets out circumstances in which a weapon is to be regarded as being available to the first person. The Explanatory Notes state that this is a non-exhaustive list, which is without doubt an understatement. However, in the circumstances I do not object to that. It would be impossible to set out an exhaustive list in primary legislation of this type. But what kind of guidelines will be given to the CPS when it seeks determine which cases should be prosecuted, and in what way? Further, what guidelines will be given to the police when they are considering making an arrest? Or will the question be left to be decided on a case-by-case basis in the courts? What work have the Government carried out so far on this matter? I put these questions to the Minister in a basic and practical way. For example, what if a person asks someone else to mind a gun for him and the minder, either at the behest of the first person or on his own initiative, breaks down the gun into separate parts so that it cannot be used until it has been reassembled? Is that weapon still considered to be available within the context of the offence in this clause? Again, what if the minder, either on his own initiative or at the behest of the owner of the weapon, hides the parts of the gun in different places, not close to each other but at some distance? Is that weapon still available under the drafting of this subsection? Lastly, what if the owner breaks down the gun into its component parts and asks different people to mind the weapon? Is that weapon still available under the drafting of this subsection? What I am trying to do here is to ask probing questions from the standpoint of someone who wants to ensure that this new offence really does bite and that people cannot get around it by using easy and devious means. I beg to move.