Alex White (Labour)

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 11, before section 9, to insert the following new section:

9.—Paragraph 1 of the Appendix to the Offences against the State (Scheduled Offences) Order 1972 is revoked.".

This concerns the appendix to the Offences against the State (Scheduled Offences) Order 1972, and my amendment proposes to revoke Paragraph 1 of the appendix, under which malicious damage is an offence. The offence of malicious damage has been renamed criminal damage, which does not appear to be treated as a scheduled offence. The reference to malicious damage seems obsolete and needs to be revoked. Otherwise, the reference will cause confusion as to whether it should be read as covering criminal damage in light of the Interpretation Act 2005. It is suggested that this would have practical ramifications for the trial of anyone accused of criminal damage. I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say in response to this somewhat technical amendment.