Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969

     Paragraph 9 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

     Paragraph 10 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

     Paragraph 11 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

     Paragraph 12 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

     Paragraph 13 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Act.

     Theft Act 1978

     Paragraph 14 repeals section 4(2)(a), which specifies the penalties for offences under sections 1 and 2 of the Act, which are both repealed by paragraph 1.

     Paragraph 15 repeals section 5(1), which defines "deception" for the purposes of sections 1 and 2 and will likewise be redundant on their repeal.

     Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978

     Paragraphs 16 and 17 of Schedule 1 make provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraphs 14 and 15.

     Limitation Act 1980

     Paragraph 18 amends section 4 (special time limit on civil actions in cases of theft). It replaces the existing section 4(5)(b), which defines "theft" as including cases of fraud under section 15 of the 1968 Act and blackmail under section 21 of the 1968 Act, with a new provision which refers to fraud (within the meaning of the Act). It preserves the reference to blackmail.

     Finance Act 1982

     Paragraph 19 amends section 11, which enables the Commissioners of Customs and Excise to institute proceedings under the Theft Act 1968, the Theft Act 1978 etc, notwithstanding the fact that payments may be due to the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce. The amendment adds the Fraud Act 2006 to the list of Acts in respect of which proceedings may be taken.

     Nuclear Material (Offences) Act 1983

     Paragraph 20 amends section 1, which provides that if a person commits a wide range of offences (including "fraud") "in relation to or by means of" nuclear material, he may be tried in the UK irrespective of where he did the acts. The amendment simply deletes the reference to section 15 of the 1968 Act and section 15 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, which are repealed by the Act. As "fraud" is already mentioned in section 1 in a general way, the 1983 Act provision will bite on the offence in section 1 of the Act without the need for a specific mention of the Act.

     Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

     Paragraph 21 amends section 1(8) (on stop and search) by replacing the existing reference to section 15 of the 1968 Act with a reference to fraud contrary to section 1. The effect is that articles made or adapted for use in frauds will be "prohibited articles" and a constable may search vehicles for them under section 1(2) or seize them under section 1(6). (This does not obviate the need for section 6 of the Act as the possession of "prohibited articles" is not an offence under PACE.)

     Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Paragraph 22 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraph 18.

Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Paragraph 23 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraph 21.

     Criminal Justice Act 1993

     Paragraph 24 makes three amendments to the definitions of Group A and Group B offences for the purposes of the jurisdictional provisions of Part 1 of the 1993 Act. The basic effect of these 1993 provisions is to give our courts jurisdiction over certain specific crimes of dishonesty even where only one element of the offence took place in the UK. So paragraph 24:

• deletes the references in section 1(2)(a) to sections 15, 15A, 16 and 20(2) of the 1968 Act, which are redundant as they are repealed by the Act,

• deletes section 1(2)(b) which comprises references to sections 1 and 2 of the 1978 Act, which are repealed by the Act, and

• adds to section 1(2) a new paragraph (bb) with references to the offences in sections 1, 6, 7, 9 and 11 of the Act.

Paragraph 25 amends section 2 of the 1993 Act to ensure that the offence of fraud in section 1 of the Act can be prosecuted if the only event that takes place in this jurisdiction is the gain or loss of property.

Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

Paragraph 26 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraph 27.

Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

     Paragraph 27 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraph 24.

     Paragraph 28 makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to the provision made for England and Wales by paragraph 25.

     Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000

     Paragraph 29 amends section 130 (on compensation orders). Section 130 contains references in subsections (5) and (6)(a) to an offence under the Theft Act 1968. This paragraph inserts a new reference to offences under the Act. This is consequential on the repeal and replacement of sections 15, 15A, 15B, 16 and 20 (2) of the 1968 Act by the Act.

Terrorism Act 2000

     Paragraph 30 amends Schedule 9 (scheduled offences) to reflect the repeal of the section 15 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (offence of "obtaining property by deception") and the creation of the new offences under section 1 of the Act.

Paragraph 31 amends Schedule 12 to reflect the repeal of section 15 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 and the consequent need to include an express definition of deception.

     Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000

     Paragraph 32 makes two amendments to Schedule 6, which defines "trigger offences" for the purposes of Part 3 of the 2000 Act. The term is used in sections 63 and 64 (in both cases commission of a trigger offence can lead to drug testing of young offenders on supervision or licence after release). So paragraph 30:

• removes the reference to section 15, which will be redundant on its repeal, and

• inserts a new paragraph 3 saying that offences under sections 1, 6 and 7 of the Act are trigger offences.

Armed Forces Act 2001

     Paragraph 33 amends section 2 which gives similar powers of stop and search to service policemen as are given to regular policemen by PACE. It replaces the existing reference to section 15 of the 1968 Act with a reference to section 1 of the Act. It parallels the amendment to PACE made by paragraph 21.

Licensing Act 2003

     Paragraph 34 adds a reference to offences under the Act to the list of "relevant offences" for the purposes of the personal licence provisions of the 2003 Act.

Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004

     Paragraph 35 amends the list of offences, in section 14(2) of the 2004 Act, for which an Immigration Officer may arrest without warrant when exercising a function under the Immigration Acts. Sub-paragraph (1) deletes the existing references to offences repealed by the Act. Sub-paragraph (2) inserts a reference to provisions of the Act broadly equivalent to those which are currently mentioned in section 14.

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

Paragraph 36 amends section 76 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which concerns financial reporting orders. That section provides for a new ancillary order, available to courts at the point of sentence that will require offenders convicted of specified fraud and organised crime lifestyle offences to make such reports of their income and assets as the court sets out in the order. Paragraph 34 ensures that the offences in sections 1 and 11 of the Act can trigger the making of a financial reporting order and deletes the references in section 76 of the 2005 Act to the deception offences in sections 15, 15A, 16 and 20(2) of the Theft Act 1968 and sections 1 and 2 of the Theft Act 1978 that are repealed by the Act.

Paragraph 37 makes similar changes to section 78 of the 2005 Act which concerns financial reporting orders in Northern Ireland.

Gambling Act 2005

Paragraph 38 adds a reference to offences under the Act to the list of "relevant offences" for the purposes of the Gambling Act. Under the Gambling Act a conviction for a relevant offence is a ground on which a licence under that Act may be refused.

SCHEDULE 2: TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS AND SAVINGS

Maximum term of imprisonment for offences under this Act

     Paragraph 1 is a transitional provision to ensure the lower maximum penalty for summary cases applies in any case involving an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Increase in penalty for fraudulent trading

     Paragraph 2 preserves the existing (lower) penalty for cases of fraudulent trading under the companies legislation in which the events occurred before the commencement of this Act. Section 16(1)(d) of the Interpretation Act provides that "..where an Act repeals an enactment, the repeal does not, unless the contrary intention appears - ...(d) affect any penalty.. or punishment committed against that enactment..". This does not preserve a penalty for an offence when there is merely a change in the penalty (and no repeal of the existing offence).

Abolition of deception offences

     Paragraph 3 makes transitional provision in relation to offences partly committed before this Act comes into force. Offences committed wholly before this Act comes into force will be covered by section 16 of the Interpretation Act.

Scope of offences relating to stolen goods under the Theft Act 1968 (c.60)

     Paragraph 4 ensures that this Act will not affect the operation of section 24 of the 1968 Act in relation to goods obtained before its commencement or as the result of a deception made before its commencement.

Dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit under the Theft Act 1968

     Paragraph 5 ensures that this Act will not affect the operation of section 24A in relation to credits falling within section 24A(3) and (4) and made before its commencement.

Scope of offences relating to stolen goods under the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (c.16 (N.I.))

Paragraph 6 ensures that the amendments made by paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to this Act will not affect the operation of section 23 in relation to goods obtained as the result of a deception made before the commencement of paragraph 11.

Dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit under the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969

Paragraph 7 ensures that the amendments made by paragraph 12 of Schedule 1 to this Act will not affect the operation of section 23A in relation to credits falling within section 23A(3) and (4) and made before the commencement of paragraph 12.

Limiting periods under the Limitation Act 1980 (c.58)

     Paragraph 8 ensures that this Act will not affect the operation of section 4 in relation to chattels obtained before its commencement or as the result of a deception made before its commencement.

Limitation periods under the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/1339 (N.I. 11))

     Paragraph 9 ensures that the amendments made by paragraph 23 of Schedule 1 to this Act will not affect the operation of Article 18 in relation to chattels obtained as the result of a deception made before the commencement of paragraph 23.

Scheduled offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11)

Paragraph 10 ensures that the amendments made by paragraph 28 of Schedule 1 to this Act will not affect the operation of Part 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in relation to an offence under section 15(1) of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 where the obtaining is a result of a deception made before the commencement of paragraph 28.

Powers of arrest under Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (c.19)

     Paragraph 11 ensures that the amendment to the 2004 Act made by paragraph 33 of Schedule 1 to this Act does not affect offences committed partly before the commencement of this Act.

COMMENCEMENT

Section 15 of this Act provides for the Act's provisions to be commenced by order.

     HANSARD REFERENCES

     The following table sets out the dates and Hansard references for each stage of this Act's passage through Parliament.

Royal Assent - 8 November 2006

House of Lords Hansard Vol. 686 Col 749      House of Commons Hansard Vol. 451 Col 825