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Lords Amendment No. 60: In page 62, line 44, at end insert:
( ) The clerk of each juvenile court shall, art such times and in such form as the Secretary of State may direct, transmit to him such particulars as he may require with respect to the proceedings of the court
§ Mr. Elystan MorganI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
This Amendment requires the clerk of the juvenile court to provide the Secretary of State with any particulars that are required for statistical purposes, as recommended by the Adams Committee.
§ Mr. CarlisleMay I have an assurance that was sought by the noble Viscount Colville in another place, namely, whether the statistics which will be provided under this provision are likely to explain the type of offence for which the child is brought before the court? As the noble Lord pointed out, it is important that we know the purpose for which these statistics will be used.
May I also have an assurance about the wording of the Amendment, which is wide? It enables the Secretary of State to call for information from the clerk of the justices court for particulars with respect to the proceedings of that court. Do I take it that it is intended that this should be limited to requiring particulars for the compilation of statistics and that it is in no way being suggested that the provision could be used as a means of asking for a report from the clerk about something concerned with the behaviour of the court?
473 I am sure that the Under-Secretary will wish to take this opportunity to reiterate that such a matter should always be one for the Lord Chancellor's Department, and not for the Home Office. I hope that the Under-Secretary will give that assurance, since one might get a different impression from reading the Amendment.
§ Mr. Elystan MorganAt present, the criminal statistics contain a table which shows the number of children and young persons dealt with by caution as well as tables showing the numbers dealt with by prosecution. Arrangements will be made with the police for information to be collected about the number of juvenile offenders dealt with, including those dealt with by prosecution, court proceedings, caution or reference to local authority children's departments. This information will be published and, in addition, tables will be published in the criminal statistics showing the results of proceedings against young persons. Tables will also be published showing court proceedings and the grounds on which those proceedings were brought.
As for the second assurance sought by the hon. Member for Runcorn (Mr. Carlisle), I assure him that this only comes within the scope I have mentioned in connection with the matters for which information will be sought.
§ Question put and agreed to.