Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Miss Smith]

My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and I look forward greatly to working with the right hon. Gentleman and others to support proposals that will make the activities of third parties more transparent to the public.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Given that the proposals constituted a strong part of the coalition agreement, why were they not included in this year’s Queen’s Speech?

[Miss Smith]

We made it clear all along that we intended to introduce this Bill. Working on the detail is important, and I think all Members will welcome the fact that we are doing that now.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Solicitor-General]

The point to make is that the decisions are made by officers at the time. They are not orders, but decisions made when there has perhaps been an apology or some reparation. In cases of domestic violence, that would be inappropriate. The guidance is that the resolutions should not be used for such cases. Obviously, I will mention the matter to the Home Office, which is the place to direct the question.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I declare an interest as a special constable. Presumably, the Solicitor-General should be interested in liaising with the Home Office about the most serious offence that a police officer could deal with under a community resolution order, rather than its going through the justice system. Will he assure the House that he will establish that threshold with the Home Department?

[The Solicitor-General]

As my hon. Friend will know from his background in the special constabulary, community resolutions are designed for dealing with low-level matters, when the person involved does not have previous convictions and it is possible to reach an agreement between the parties. Clearly, any serious offence should be dealt with in a different way.