Blog “Civil liberties and the coalition governmentâ€, posted last Monday, dealt with the initial Tory and Liberal coalition agreement. It was to be followed in due course by a final and fully comprehensive agreement, and now, surprisingly early, comes that agreement. It is a schedule of over 400 objectives under 31 separate detailed headings (compared with only 11 headings in the original document).
The Civil Liberties section remains unchanged apart from one significant addition. This states: “We will establish a Commission to investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights that incorporates and builds on all our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, ensures that these rights continue to be enshrined in British law, and protects and extends British liberties. We will seek to promote a better understanding of the true scope of these obligations and libertiesâ€.
One of the new sections covers Crime and Policing. There is a string of proposals designed to ensure that police forces have greater freedom from Ministerial control, are better able to deal with the crime and anti-social behaviour and are much more accountable to the public they serve. There are also a number of specific alcohol related proposals – a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price, an overhaul of the Licensing Act to give local authorities and the police much stronger powers to remove licences, a doubling of the maximum fine for under-age alcohol sales to £20,000, etc. There will be better recording of hate crimes against disabled, homosexual and transgender people, which apparently are frequently not centrally recorded. And there will be a review of the operation of the Extradition Act – and the US/UK extradition treaty – to make sure it is even-handed.
Another new section goes under the heading of Justice. There are a number of measures designed to achieve more effective sentencing policies, as well as overhauling the system of rehabilitation to reduce reoffending and provide greater support and protection for the victims of crime. Other specific measures include delivering up to 15 new rape crisis centres, and give existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding using proceeds from the Victim Surcharge; and extending anonymity in rape cases to defendants. The introduction of effective measures to tackle anti-social behaviour and low-level crime is promised, including forms of restorative justice such as Neighbourhood Justice Panels. And yet another review, this time of legal aid “to make it work more efficientlyâ€.
The full text of “The Coalition: our programme for government†can be found at:
