Criminal Justice and Courts Bill – Lords Amendments

This paper is designed to provide background information for Consideration of Lords Amendments of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which is due to take place on 1 December 2014.

There were several Government defeats at report stage on judicial review. The Bill introduces a number of reforms aimed at reducing “the burden of judicial review”. Broadly these Lords amendments seek to restore judicial discretion over how the new rules are to be applied.

An Opposition amendment would exclude younger boys, and all girls, from the new Secure Colleges. This too was a defeat for the Government.

The Government accepted an amendment to treat 17 year olds in the same way as younger teenagers when they are detained in police custody. They also accepted technical amendments to “two strikes” clause for those aged 16 or over convicted of certain offences to do with knives or other offensive weapons. This clause itself was added as a result of a backbench amendment at report stage in the Commons.

There were many Government amendments to the Bill. They include:

• A new power for the Secretary of State to appoint “Recall Adjudicators” to review the detention of recalled determinate sentence prisoners

• A new offence to deal with “revenge pornography”

• A ban on the offer of inducements as an incentive to bring personal injury claims

The Ministry of Justice has produced Explanatory Notes on the Lords Amendments.