The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2013

Made: 25th November 2013

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 61(2) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013[^f00001]:

Citation and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2013.

• (2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

Provisions coming into force on 11th December 2013

2

The following provisions of the Act come into force on 11th December 2013—

• (a) section 27 (disclosure of information to facilitate collection of fines and other sums);

• (b) section 44 (dealing non-custodially with offenders), so far as relating to Parts 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of Schedule 16 to the Act;

• (c) so far as extending to the United Kingdom, section 44 so far as relating to Part 8 of Schedule 16 to the Act except paragraph 37;

• (d) Parts 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of Schedule 16 (dealing non-custodially with offenders); and

• (e) so far as extending to the United Kingdom, Part 8 of Schedule 16 except paragraph 37.

Provision coming into force on 1st February 2014

3

Section 57 of the Act (public order offences) comes into force on 1st February 2014.

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State

Jeremy Wright — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Ministry of Justice — 25th November 2013

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order is the sixth commencement order made under the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c.22) (“the Act”). This order commences a number of provisions of the Act on 11th December 2013 and 1st February 2014.

Article 2 (a) commences section 27 of the Act on 11th December 2013. Section 27 amends Schedule 5 to the Courts Act [2003 (c.39)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/39) to enable the Secretary of State and a Northern Ireland Department and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to share social security and financial information with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for the purpose of enforcing unpaid financial penalties.

Article 2 (b) commences section 44 of the Act in so far as it relates to Parts 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of Schedule 16 to the Act on 11th December 2013. Section 44 introduces Schedule 16, which makes changes to the non-custodial sentencing framework in England and Wales. Article 2(d) commences Parts 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of Schedule 16 on 11th December 2013. Part 1 of Schedule 16 amends the Criminal Justice Act [2003 (c.44)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/44) so as to require a court imposing a community order either to include a requirement that fulfils the purpose of punishment, or impose a fine (or do both) unless there are exceptional circumstances that would make that unjust. Part 2 of Schedule 16 amends the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act [2000 (c.6)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/6) to make it explicit that courts can use their existing powers to defer sentence to allow for a restorative justice activity to take place. Part 3 of Schedule 16 amends the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 to remove the limit of £5,000 on a compensation order made by a magistrates’ court. Part 5 of Schedule 16 removes uncommenced provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act [2012 (c.10)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10) relating to breach of a community order and corrects a technical error in that Act that prevented the imposition of a youth rehabilitation order for offences of threatening with an article with a blade or point or offensive weapon created by section 142 of that Act. Part 6 of Schedule 16 makes changes to the courts’ powers to order offenders to provide statements of their financial circumstances in various contexts. Part 7 of Schedule 16 creates a new data sharing gateway to enable the Secretary of State and a Northern Ireland Department and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to share social security information and financial information on defendants with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.

Article 2 (c) commences section 44, so far as it relates to Part 8 of Schedule 16 to the Act, except paragraph 37, but only so far as it extends to the United Kingdom, on 11th December 2013. Article 2(e) commences Part 8 of Schedule 16, except paragraph 37, but only so far as it extends to the United Kingdom, on 11th December 2013. Part 8 makes provision equivalent to or consequential on, the amendments to Parts 1, 3 and 6 in respect of the sentencing powers of service courts under the Armed Forces Act [2006 (c. 52)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/52). The effect of the commencement provisions is that the relevant service courts will be able to rely on the new provisions wherever they sit in the world, without amending the law of the Isle of Man or the British overseas territories.

Article 3 commences section 57 of the Act on 1st February 2014. Section 57 amends section 5 of the Public Order Act [1986 (c.64)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64), to decriminalise the use of insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of someone likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2013 c.22.