94.Schedule 1 to the Act retains in force the EPA from the date on which the Act received Royal Assent for a period of one year; Ministers have referred to this interim position as the “transitional EPA”. During debate in Commons Committee, the Government made it clear that it intends to bring the Act into force early in 2001. The transitional EPA will therefore be short-lived and we do not anticipate that it would be in force for a full year. However, paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 1 ensures that, should the commencement of the Act be delayed, the transitional EPA could be renewed for a further period of 12 months.
95.This Schedule also makes some minor adjustments to the existing EPA provisions, which mostly give effect to the United Kingdom’s ECHR obligations. Those adjustments are set out at paragraphs 7 to 11 of the Schedule. Section 118 of the Act will also apply, during the transitional period, to the provisions listed in section 118(5)(b), so these provisions will impose evidential burdens only on the defendant. Paragraph 12 extends the life of Part V of the EPA on the provision of private security services with the addition of the new appeal mechanism provided for in sub-paragraphs (4) to (8).
Schedule 1: Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996