My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for his Answer, but in March 2024 there were £4.4 billion-worth of unpaid criminal court fines, compensation orders, victim surcharges, et cetera. Does the Minister agree that steps should be taken urgently to deal with this unacceptable situation, whic…
My Lords, it has always been a challenge to collect fines, because they are often imposed on people who cannot pay them. One of the areas in which progress can be made is criminal assets. This is usually around organised crime, which is motivated by profit. What I think the enforcement agencies have…
That this House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment 53.
My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will also speak to Amendments 54 to 74 and 79. We all agree that tackling the abuse of intimate image deepfakes is incredibly important. I am delighted that these provisions are returning to this House, having been strengthened in the other place, enabling us…
My Lords, I would like to provide an update on the territorial extent of the Bill. The focus of the Bill is on clarifying personal property law, which is devolved to Northern Ireland. I am pleased to confirm to the House that the Northern Ireland Assembly has granted consent for the Bill’s extension…
My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak to this Bill, which colleagues will know has undergone extensive scrutiny by the Special Public Bill Committee since its introduction in September. The Bill underscores our commitment to fostering innovation, both now and in the future. It supports our efforts to …
That the draft Order and Regulations laid before the House on 13 and 20 March be approved. Relevant document: 22nd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 6 Ma y.
My Lords, does the Minister share the view of the chief executive of the CCRC, given to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee last week, that she thought it appropriate to come into the office only one or two days every couple of months? Does he agree that the CCRC needs real leadership? It …
My Lords, the CCRC is about people’s lives. There are currently 20 cases before it for the Post Office Capture victims—this was the system before Horizon. The last Government agreed to overturn the convictions of Horizon victims. On Capture, this Government have referred victims to the CCRC. Many of…
My Lords, the draft instrument before us today makes a number of changes to ensure that legal aid continues to be available to those most in need and continues to serve some of the most vulnerable people in our society who need our support. It ensures that our legal aid legislation is aligned with w…
My Lords, time is of the essence, so I will be brief. I thank the Minister for his compassionate introduction. He has been so good as to indicate, unasked and informatively, where the pilot areas are. He mentioned my homeland, north Wales. I wonder whether he can be specific as to whereabouts in tha…
My Lords, this draft instrument amends the fixed tariff for whiplash compensation, set by the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, by applying an inflationary uplift to the tariff values. In doing so, this amendment gives effect to recommendations made by the Lord Chancellor on 21 November 2024, follow…
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his careful and comprehensive introduction to this statutory instrument. Its central point is to update the 2021 level of damages, having regard to inflation. We welcome that update, and I say at the outset that we have no objection to the use of the consu…
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for raising these issues. They get to the heart of the Bill: whether there is a need to recognise a further category in statute, and whether it is helpful to provide further guidance to the courts on the attributes to consider.
On the first of these po…
My Lords, at the outset, I acknowledge the long-standing advocacy for technological innovation of the noble Lord, Lord Holmes. I also pay tribute to his deep commitment to ensuring that our regulatory framework is fit for purpose in an increasingly digital world.
These amendments would mandate revi…
I share the sentiments that the noble Lord has just expressed. I am pleased to hear that the second victim has been discharged from hospital. What I can say is in the public domain already: the police are, obviously, investigating this matter very seriously, including counterterrorism police, and th…
I can give the assurance the noble Lord seeks. I will certainly make sure that the comments he has made are fed back through the appropriate channels. I agree with the point he is making; it is important that the local community feels reassured.