Serious Crime Bill [Lords]

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak briefly on new clause 1. I echo the concerns that have just been expressed about the introduction of such wide-ranging and important provisions at this stage of our deliberations. We had opportunities for exhaustive discussion of the Bill in Committee, when we went through it in great detail, so it is alarming that new provisions are being introduced in this way. Three aspects of the new clause give me cause for concern, and I shall be interested in the Minister's response. The first is that the provision is extremely wide-ranging. It shines a light on a larger concern about the Bill as a whole, which is that there are conflicting stories about the number of people who will be caught up by the provisions. In Committee and in his speech today, the Minister was keen to stress that the provisions will apply to only a small number of people. Those assurances are not in writing in the Bill, but the background mood music is that we need not be overly concerned that the provisions will be routinely applied, as they will catch only a small number of particularly burdensome criminals. None the less, representations to me from agencies and others who are broadly supportive of the measure make much more extravagant claims about its impact on my constituents. If 30 or 40 people a year are caught up by the provisions, it is unlikely that any of them will be my constituents. Of course, there will be a knock-on effect in terms of the impact that is caused, but it would be interesting to know how many people are likely to be caught by these provisions. Although there is a point of principle, a matter of degree also applies, and so far, that is not at all clear. The second point that gives cause for concern is that the specific people are not defined in the Bill. Therefore, it is difficult to understand how, when such services are contracted out to various outside agencies, checks and balances will be in place to ensure that the powers are wielded responsibly and in way that would satisfy an elected representative, such as myself. The third issue that gives me cause for concern—I would be interested to hear the Minister's response—was raised by the hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire) and relates to the obligation on the subject of the order to pay the costs. That could be very serious sanction against someone who has not necessarily committed a criminal offence. I would be interested to know whether the Minister felt that there could be a cap on those costs. I ask him for more detail on how he thinks that will work in practice.