I should say, first, that when I mentioned the noble Baroness in my speech, I was not making the point that she had not risen. I wanted her to appreciate that I had taken on
board that she was opposing the clause. When I say “the Government”, of course I mean “the Government with the authority of Parliament”. We are looking at a Bill and that is taken as read. Ultimately, the question is: is it necessarily right for Parliament to say that we cannot proceed unless we know that the LCJ is on board? I suggest that it is quite proper in this case for Parliament and the Bill to say, “This is a power which can be exercised by the Lord Chancellor and no concurrence is necessary.” As I said to the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, I am happy to look at this point, but that is the current position which I adopt.
I was going to make one more point on Clause 4 and Amendment 29, which seeks to raise the age of eligibility for the Section 12 procedure—often referred to as “pleading guilty by post”—from 16 to 18. This procedure has been available as an alternative method of summary-only prosecution for defendants aged 16 and over since 1957. I am not aware of any issues of concern being raised in relation to under-18s during the whole of that time.
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The purpose of Clause 4 is to ensure that prosecutors can also offer this long-established procedure for suitable cases initiated by charge in person at a police station. It maintains the age criterion that already exists. That comes with an array of safeguards for children, which I will not read into the record because I apprehend that members of the Committee will be well aware of them. I suggest that the amendment would therefore create confusion by applying different rules to a well-established procedure since 1957 simply because the defendant is being charged in a different way. I do not think that that is a distinction with a difference, if I can use that legal phrase. It also fails to take into account the special safeguards in place to ensure that the rights of children are protected.
For those reasons, I urge noble Lords not to press the various amendments.