(1) If the offence charged by the information is one of those mentioned in the first column of Schedule 2 to this Act (in this section referred to as “scheduled offences”) then, ... the court shall, before proceeding in accordance with section l9 above, consider whether, having regard to any representations made by the prosecutor or the accused, the value involved (as defined in subsection (10) below) appears to the court to exceed the relevant sum.
For the purposes of this section the relevant sum is £5,000.
(2) If, where subsection (1) above applies, it appears to the court clear that, for the offence charged, the value involved does not exceed the relevant sum, the court shall proceed as if the offence were triable only summarily, and sections l9 to 21 above shall not apply.
(3) If, where subsection (1) above applies, it appears to the court clear that, for the offence charged, the value involved exceeds that relevant sum, the court shall thereupon proceed in accordance with section 19 above in the ordinary way without further regard to the provisions of this section.
(4) If, where subsection (1) above applies, it appears to the court for any reason not clear whether, for the offence charged, the value involved does or does not exceed the relevant sum, the provisions of subsections (5) and (6) below shall apply.
(5) The court shall cause the charge to be written down, if this has not already been done, and read to the accused, and shall explain to him in ordinary language—
(a) that he can, if he wishes, consent to be tried summarily for the offence and that if he consents to be so tried, he will definitely be tried in that way; and
(b) that if he is tried summarily and is convicted by the court, his liability to imprisonment or a fine will be limited as provided in section 33 below.
(6) After explaining to the accused as provided by subsection (5) above the court shall ask him whether he consents to be tried summarily and—
(a) if he so consents, shall proceed in accordance with subsection (2) above as if that subsection applied;
(b) if he does not so consent, shall proceed in accordance with subsection (3) above as if that subsection applied.
(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(8) Where a person is convicted by a magistrates’ court of a scheduled offence, it shall not be open to him to appeal to the Crown Court against the conviction on the ground that the convicting court’s decision as to the value involved was mistaken.
(9) If, where subsection (1) above applies, the offence charged is one with which the accused is charged jointly with a person who has not attained the age of 18 years, the reference in that subsection to any representations made by the accused shall be read as including any representations made by the person under 18.
(10) In this section “the value involved”, in relation to any scheduled offence, means the value indicated in the second column of Schedule 2 to this Act, measured as indicated in the third column of that Schedule; and in that Schedule “the material time” means the time of the alleged offence.
(11) Where—
(a) the accused is charged on the same occasion with two or more scheduled offences and it appears to the court that they constitute or form part of a series of two or more offences of the same or a similar character; or
(b) the offence charged consists in incitement to commit two or more scheduled offences,
this section shall have effect as if any reference in it to the value involved were a reference to the aggregate of the values involved.
(11A) In paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 “memorial” means—
(a) a building or other structure, or any other thing, erected or installed on land (or in or on any building or other structure on land), or
(b) a garden or any other thing planted or grown on land,
which has a commemorative purpose.
(11B) For the purposes of that paragraph, any moveable thing (such as a bunch of flowers) which—
(a) is left in, on or at a memorial within the meaning of subsection (11A), and
(b) has (or can reasonably be assumed to have) a commemorative purpose,
is also to be regarded as a memorial.
(11C) For the purposes of subsections (11A) and (11B)—
(a) references to a building or a structure include a reference to part of a building or part of a structure (as the case may be), and
(b) something has a commemorative purpose if at least one of its purposes is to commemorate—
(i) one or more individuals or animals (or a particular description of individuals or animals), or
(ii) an event or a series of events (such as an armed conflict).
(11D) It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (11C)(b)(i) whether or not any individuals or animals concerned are or were (at any material time)—
(a) living or deceased, or
(b) capable of being identified.
(12) Subsection (8) of section 12A of the Theft Act 1968 (which determines when a vehicle is recovered) shall apply for the purposes of paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to this Act as it applies for the purposes of that section.