Counter-Terrorism Bill

moved Amendment No. 6: 6: Clause 81, page 56, leave out lines 18 to 20 and insert— ““(b) other premises to which the controlled person is required to grant access in accordance with an obligation imposed by or under the control order; (c) any premises— (i) to which the controlled person has previously been required to grant access in accordance with an obligation imposed by or under a control order, and (ii) with which there is reason to believe that the controlled person is or was recently connected.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, on Report I mentioned that I proposed to table an amendment to what is now Clause 81 of the Bill to deal with an issue raised in Committee by the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer. Clause 81 strengthens police powers to enter and search the premises of individuals subject to a control order. It is intended to fill gaps in the powers of the police to investigate more effectively breaches of control order obligations and to ensure the police can more effectively monitor compliance with, and enforcement of, control order obligations. The noble Baroness expressed concern about whether the definition of premises in the clause was sufficiently tightly worded and in particular whether the wording, at least in theory, gave the police powers to search premises that were no longer connected with the controlled individual in any way. Although the noble Baroness acknowledged that it did not seem likely that the police would undertake an inappropriate search, we agreed to see whether the drafting of the relevant powers could be improved to ensure the desirable clarity in the Bill. We believe that Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 will deliver that clarity by amending the definition of premises in new Sections 7A and 7C of the 2005 Act. The new definitions will allow entry to three categories of property: the controlled person’s place of residence; other premises that the controlled person is required to grant access to as part of the control order obligations; and any premises to which the controlled individual was required to grant access to in the past and with which there is reason to believe that the controlled person is or was recently connected. The key difference between this formulation and the one currently in the Bill is the addition of the explicit requirement that, for past premises, there must be reason to believe that there is or was a recent connection between the controlled person and the premises. That formulation will cover any premises which, for example, are still occupied or owned by a relative, friend or other associate of the individual or property that the controlled individual left only recently. However, it will not cover premises that were occupied by the controlled individual but which are now occupied by a member of the public with no connection whatever with the controlled individual. We think that this is a good amendment and we thank the noble Baroness for her intervention on that point. I beg to move.