Draft Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2021

Steve Baker Excerpts

Wednesday 1st December 2021 General Committees

[Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con)]

I am sorry to detain the Committee, but, unfortunately for the Committee, when I launched the Hansard Society’s review of delegated legislation, I insisted that Members of Parliament should always scrutinise what was put before them. Therefore I need to raise two points with my hon. Friend the Minister.

First, article 5(2)(c) talks about

“an explanation of why the chief officer considers the information ought to be included in the enhanced criminal record certificate”.

That put me in mind of a constituency case in which a young man who had done something wrong in his youth found that he was constrained in what he could do despite having very much moved on from his past misdemeanours. Has the Minister considered the extent to which people will perhaps unjustly be disadvantaged throughout their whole lives if minor information is included in these certificates? That might be a matter for him or possibly the Scottish Government. I heard his helpful explanation at the beginning of his remarks.

The other point I want to raise is about article 14, on the destruction of prints and samples. It says that

“samples are to be destroyed as soon as possible”

after either a conclusion has been reached or

“the expiry of the maximum retention period”.

Could the Minister reassure me that the Government are considering continuing to review retention periods across the full range where Government take samples? I particularly have in mind DNA retention, thinking back to the Protection of Freedoms Bill, on which I served in Committee many years ago. With that, Mr Sharma, I am very grateful for this opportunity to fulfil my pledge to the Hansard Society that I would always read the regulations.

[The Chair]

That was a wonderful contribution and I am sure the Minister has taken it positively.