In moving the amendment in my name, I want also to address the related amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe.
In truth, I do not believe that there is any great difference between noble Lords’ position and the Government’s. We all agree that it is entirely unacceptable that workers in public-facing roles should face verbal abuse and worse. That is why we have brought forward Amendment 84, to make it clear that such abuse will not be tolerated and to put in statute that the public-facing nature of the victim’s role will be an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing.
I am grateful for the welcome the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, has given to the Government’s amendment. I know, too, that it has been welcomed by many of those who have campaigned on this important issue. I think they, rightly, regard this as a very welcome and significant step forward. In the debate in Committee, I gave your Lordships a firm commitment that the Government were in the process of considering, as a matter of urgency, how best to balance the many issues raised on this topic. Amendment 84 is the result of that consideration, and I would like to explain its purpose.
The amendment places in statute the aggravating factor applied by the courts in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a
service to the public. The aggravating factor is set out in the Sentencing Council’s sentencing guidelines. The provision applies to offences listed in the sentencing guidelines, which are also specified under Section 67(3) of the Sentencing Act 2020, with the addition of common assault and battery. This provides consistency with the statutory aggravating factor applied to assaults against emergency workers, as set out under Section 67 of the Sentencing Act 2020. This includes assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, malicious wounding and threats to kill, as well as an inchoate offence in relation to any of these offences. These are the assault offences most likely to be experienced by front-line workers. Importantly, the provision also allows the court to apply the aggravating factor to any other offence, where the court considers this factor relevant.
If the offence was committed against a person providing a public service or performing a public duty, the court will have a statutory duty to treat that fact as an aggravating factor, and must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated. This amendment will reinforce in statute the seriousness with which the courts should treat these offences. It will send a very strong signal to the public that assaults of this kind are totally unacceptable. The Government want to ensure that all those who serve the public can feel protected from abuse when working.
This legislative change recognises the very strong public and parliamentary feeling about assaults against public-facing workers. I understand the argument that retail workers are asked to enforce the statutory age restrictions and that many see this as a reason for increased protection. We have also heard concerns from the retail sector about the risk of increased abuse fuelled by the mandatory requirement to wear face masks in shops. However, I consider it is important to give the same protection to all workers who face a similar risk of assault. For retail workers, it builds on the important work already under way by the National Retail Crime Steering Group to ensure that assaults are not seen as part of a retail worker’s job. The steering group brings together the Government, retailers, unions and trade associations, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the police-led National Business Crime Centre.
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I mentioned the work of the National Retail Crime Steering Group in Committee and I will not repeat it now. The work of the steering group will continue and it will play an important role in spreading the message about this change in the law, ensuring that retailers are reporting assaults to police and helping to ensure this is a deterrent to offenders. I can inform your Lordships that yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister, together with the Home Secretary and Attorney-General held a round table to discuss this important topic with CEOs and representatives from across the retail sector. So no one should be in any doubt as to the seriousness with which this issue is being treated at the highest levels of government.
I turn briefly to Amendment 100, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. It seeks to create an offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a person who is
performing their duties as a retail worker, and impose a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment, a fine or both. Given that the Government are creating a statutory aggravating factor, I hope that he will agree that that is not a necessary change.
It is important to remember that a person may be found guilty of common assault even if they have not been physically violent. Raising a fist to lead a victim to believe that they are going to be attacked, or pushing the victim, could constitute assault. The Government do not believe it is appropriate to provide for a higher maximum penalty in such cases. I understand that minor assaults and verbal abuse can have a significant toll on someone’s mental and emotional health, and I do not mean to diminish that fact. For more serious assaults, where physical violence has resulted in injury, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm can be charged. Those offences attract higher maximum penalties. The maximum penalty for assault occasioning actual bodily harm is five years’ imprisonment.
I turn, finally, to Amendment 104FB, tabled by my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe. It seeks to place a duty on the Government to conduct a review of, and report on, the adequacy of resources that police forces have available for the purposes of preventing or investigating assaults on retail workers. We all want to make sure that the statutory aggravating factor acts as a deterrent and results in a reduction in assaults against retail workers. As I have said, our amendment is part of the Government’s broader work with the retail sector and police to reduce these crimes. However, we will pay close attention to the impact this amendment has, as we do with all new legislation. In addition, the Sentencing Council reviews the sentencing guidelines on a regular basis, and the statutory aggravating factor will be considered as part of that process. We will continue to discuss the situation with the retail sector through the National Retail Crime Steering Group. The main indicator of whether incidents have reduced is the experience of retail workers, whether they feel safer at work and whether they experience a reduction in incidents.
Ultimately, the allocation of police officers is a matter for individual chief constables and the police and crime commissioners to whom they are answerable. It is the Government’s duty to ensure that the police have sufficient resources and there can be no doubt that the Government are doing what is required in that space. As noble Lords will know, we are committed to an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales, and we are over half way there.
I am grateful to all those who have worked with the Government on this, and I hope they will now see that their efforts have been worth while. I see the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, on the Back Bench. I pay particular tribute to him. He has not let this one go over a number of years. I also hope that, in the light of the government amendment and having heard my comments, the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe will be content not to move their amendments. I note that the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, also has an amendment in this group. I look forward to hearing what he has to say and I will respond when winding up. I beg to move.