§ Q3. Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Prime Minister whether he will advise Her Majesty to appoint a Royal Commission to consider variations of the range and type of punishments for crime.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Royal Commission on the Penal System is already considering whether any changes are desirable in the penalties and methods of treatment available to the courts when they deal with offenders.
§ Mr. Hector HughesDoes the Prime Minister realise that the present type and range of punishment, according to up-to- 276 the-moment statistics, are quite inadequate to deal with the range of crime taking place at present and that some other means must be devised to deal with criminals with a view to deterring them from committing crimes?
§ The Prime MinisterI think this is a matter for the Royal Commission. Its terms of reference are quite adequate for going into the matter raised by my hon. and learned Friend. Two very distinguished hon. Members of this House are concerned with the work of the Royal Commission and I am sure that everything my hon. and learned Friend has mentioned will be in the mind of the Commission.
§ Mr. SharplesWould not the Prime Minister agree that the setting up of this Royal Commission by the previous Administration was more than justified by recent events?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member has been working terribly hard to score a point about the old Government, but there was very strong pressure on that Government when they saw the Report of the Labour Party Commission headed by my noble Friend, Lord Longford.