Serious Crime Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister. She has taken me some way forward to seeing whether we might be able to resolve our concerns. I am grateful to my noble and learned friend Lord Mayhew of Twysden for referring us forward to Clause 5(7). I have tabled Amendments Nos. 60 and 62 on that matter; the former seeks to leave out subsection (7) and the latter leaves out the reference to the power of the law officers to determine at a later stage what prohibitions might be imposed on a person. The way in which the Minister has addressed my noble and learned friend’s comments today has given me some thoughts about how we might approach Amendment No. 60 when we reach it. There may be some way in which we can achieve a resolution, whereas previously I was concerned that we might not, so that has been constructive. I agree with the noble Baroness that we are all trying to ensure that the provision is watertight so that there will be compliance—otherwise everyone’s time is wasted and the person still goes on to participate in serious crime, which none of us wishes. I am grateful to her for setting out how she sees the court’s role in those terms. It is helpful to have that on the record because, if there is not sufficient clarity in the terms of the order as announced in the court, breach cannot be pursued. That is in no one’s interests, so I look forward to seeing with perhaps different eyes than I would otherwise the arguments that we might be able to adduce when we reach Amendments Nos. 60 and 62, so that perhaps we can achieve a resolution on those matters. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.