Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

I am grateful for all the comments that have been made. My hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) was absolutely right, and I pay tribute to the work he has done as a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. As he said, community-based restorative justice schemes have great potential as a diversion from prosecution, dealing with a pattern of offending behaviour at an early stage in a way that diverts people from the criminal justice system altogether. I am sure we all support that, but there have been concerns about various schemes. What we have now is a system of accreditation and inspection that is rigorous, and can determine whether individuals working in schemes are suitable for the task. We have a robust system, including the protocol. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn (Mr. Hanson), who is no longer with us now that he is happily charged with other responsibilities. He has done considerable work to establish this system, which will be continued under the watchful eye of the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle). There is no question of ego here. I pay fulsome tribute to Lord Trimble for his work—for the amendments that he tabled, and for his efforts to ensure that the Bill provides the certainties and securities that he seeks. My right hon. Friend Lord Rooker accepted the spirit of what was proposed, but made clear that a check with parliamentary counsel would be necessary to ensure that the amendments did all that we hoped and expected them to do. The advice from parliamentary counsel is that the amendments that he initially brought to our attention are defective, in that they make specific requirements that are not necessary. Indeed, if we made specific requirements in relation to these schemes, we would need to legislate for reports and requirements in relation to a range of others that are not included in legislation. The inspector already has the power and responsibility to make reports and recommendations, and the Secretary of State is obliged to publish them and lay them before both Houses. The position is absolutely clear. Let me say to my hon. Friend the Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) and others that this matter will rightly be devolved to a future Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland. It does not relate to the matters that we were discussing earlier, and it can and should be devolved as we make progress towards the day of further devolution of policing and justice in Northern Ireland. Question put and agreed to. Lords amendment disagreed to. Government amendment (a)in lieu agreed to.