Police and Justice Bill

moved Amendment No. 35: Page 36, line 32, after ““court”” insert ““in the circumstances provided for in sections 57B, 57BA and 57C”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, Clause 50 provides for defendants in custody to appear at a preliminary hearing over a live link, and it allows defendants who are in police custody at a police station to appear by live link. In Committee, and again on Report, the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, expressed concern about the possible disadvantage to a defendant in custody of being obliged to appear by live link. She tabled amendments that would require the defendant’s consent before a live link direction could be made. The Government are content to take account of those concerns by adding such a consent requirement. In this regard, we all have the same purpose, and we think that it could be delivered perfectly efficiently and effectively in this way. At the same time, the fact that the existing clause would mean that a live link would not be available for a defendant who qualified for police bail is arguably anomalous. It would seem to disadvantage defendants who do not pose enough of a risk to be detained, as they would be unable to make an appearance by live link, even if they were anxious to plead guilty as soon as possible. The Government’s amendments would enable both categories of defendant—those who are detained and those who are bailed—to benefit from the live link facility if they wish to do so. To meet any concerns about the potential disadvantage of appearing over a live link, we have included an express requirement for the defendant’s consent to a live link direction, both in cases where he or she is bailed and where he or she is detained at the police station. To ensure that the amendments operate in conjunction with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, we have amended that Act to make provision for bailed defendants to appear over a live link. The amendments create within PACE a special class of bail—that is, live link bail. The amendments also provide for what should happen when a scheduled live link involving a bailed defendant does not take place because, for example, he does not wish to participate or because a live link is not available. In those circumstances, the police will have all the powers, under PACE, that they would have had when the person was arrested so that they may bail the defendant to appear in court in the usual way on another date. We are conscious of the need to ensure that defendants appearing in this way have access to appropriate legal advice, and discussions are under way to achieve that objective in the proposed pilot. The Government believe that the amendments will enable the most effective use to be made of live links from police station to court, thereby providing speedier justice, while ensuring that the defendant has the safeguard of an entirely consensual process. I hope that that will satisfy all Members of the House who have expressed an interest in this issue. I beg to move.