Commentary on Sections Part 1: Amendments of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Section 11: Codes of practice
140.This section makes fundamental changes to the process for establishing and amending codes of practice under PACE. At present there are codes covering stop and search, searching of premises, detention, identification, and the recording of interviews. The amendments provide for a less bureaucratic and more targeted consultation process for new and revised codes and for a simpler process of seeking parliamentary approval for minor or straightforward changes to existing codes. The amendment to section 67 of PACE will maintain the requirement for an order bringing a new code into operation to be laid before Parliament and approved by each House.
141.Subsection (1) establishes a new procedure whereby orders bringing revisions into operation to the codes may be either laid before Parliament or subject to the draft affirmative procedure. The Government has undertaken (see Hansard, 7 July 2003, col. 45) to be bound by the advice of the Home Affairs Select Committee on the appropriate procedure to be followed for proposed changes.
142.Subsections (2) to (4)amend the procedure for making and revising codes of practice applicable to the military police to require codes and revisions simply to be laid before Parliament. .