Commentary on Sections Schedule 12: Further provisions about criminal courts charge
484.Schedule 12 makes further provision about the criminal courts charge including consequential amendments relating to the provisions in section 54.
485.Paragraph 1 provides that an order to pay a criminal courts charge is not treated as a sentence under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that the criminal courts charge results in no rehabilitation period in relation to that order under that Act.
486.Section 82(1A) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 was inserted by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to ensure that the victim surcharge may not be discharged as extra days added to an immediate sentence of imprisonment. Paragraph 3 substitutes a new subsection (1A) into section 82 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, which provides for this approach to extend to the criminal courts charge.
487.Paragraph 4 clarifies that those ordered by a magistrates’ court to pay the criminal courts charge will have a right of appeal to the Crown Court under the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (which brings the criminal courts charge into line with the position on the victim surcharge for the purposes of appeals from a magistrates’ court).
488.Paragraph 5 amends the heading of Part 2 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (presently “Costs in Criminal Cases”) to distinguish the costs in that Part from the costs dealt with in new Part 2A inserted into that Act by section 54 of this Act.
489.Paragraph 6 clarifies that the criminal courts charge is to be treated as a fine imposed for an offence for the purpose of the Insolvency Act 1986, which means that bankruptcy does not release the bankrupt from liability in respect of the criminal courts charge.
490.Paragraph 7 enables regulations to be made under section 24 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to allow payment of the criminal courts charge to be secured by deduction from social security benefits. The power already exists in relation to fines and compensation orders.
491.Paragraph 9 makes clear that the criminal courts charge can be ordered when an offender is discharged absolutely or conditionally.
492.Paragraph 10 adds the criminal courts charge to the disposals in consequence of which the Crown Court can order that an offender before it be searched and any money found applied towards sums payable by the offender.
493.Paragraph 11 amends sections 13(3)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to make clear that the imposition of a confiscation order under that Act should not be taken into account when imposing the criminal courts charge.
494.Paragraph 13 amends section 151 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to provide that the criminal courts charge is not to be taken into account for the purpose of identifying whether someone is a persistent offender previously fined.
495.Paragraphs 14, 15 and 16 provide that where there are rights of appeal against orders made when the court is dealing with an offender for breach of supervision requirements, a community order or suspended sentence order, those rights of appeal can be exercised in relation to the criminal courts charge ordered in respect of those breach proceedings.