Speeches by Mullan.

“This new clause requires the Lord Chancellor to review, after one year and three years, the impact of the provisions of section 3 on people who are from ethnic minority backgrounds, and on White people from lower-income households.”

“Brought up, and read the First time.”

“beginning on the day on which section 3 of this Act is commenced.”

“(b) no sooner than 35 months but no later than 36 months”

“(3) Reviews under this section must consider the impact of the provisions of sections 74A to 74D of the Senior Courts Act 1981, as inserted by Section 3 of this Act, on persons who—”

“Brought up, and read the First time.”

““(1) The Lord Chancellor must lay before Parliament a report containing a review of the impact of the provisions of section 3 during each relevant period.”

“Review of impact of provisions of section 3”

“(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the relevant periods are—”

“”

“The public did not vote for a permanent reduction in their historic right to be judged by their peers; indeed, the Government’s manifesto made no mention of these changes. By subjecting these provisions to a sunset clause, we can meet what the Government see as the immediate operational needs for tackling the issue but…”

“New Clause 29”

“(a) before the end of 12 months, and”

“”

“It is all very well for the Minister to make that statement. Why does she think that?”

“I intervened when the Minister said she thought that extending sitting hours would make things worse. When I asked her to explain that, she then said that she thought the benefit would be minimal. That is a different point. Given that we have said there should be an extensive consultation to figure out all those things…”

“As I have alluded to several times, the Conservative party is considering more broadly how we tackle judicial accountability in all its different elements. It would be premature for us to settle on this new clause if, as the hon. Member for Chichester pointed out, it had to be necessarily narrow to fit in the Bill. On …”

“The need for a sunset clause is further emphasised by the significant concerns raised regarding the quality of justice that will be delivered under the new arrangements. Many representative bodies and campaign groups, including the Bar Council and JUSTICE, have warned that moving serious cases to what they describe as …”

““overriding presumption should be jury trial, with very, very limited exceptions.””

“In summary, a sunset clause is about proportionality and constitutional responsibility. Radical structural changes born of administrative pressure should not become permanent features of our democracy by default. We must remember that the Deputy Prime Minister himself has previously described juries as a “success story…”