§ 29. Mr. Hollandasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to complete his departmental review of the law concerning soliciting by men and women, with particular reference to the decision by the Queen's Bench in Crook v. Edmondson in 1966 on this subject.
§ Mr. CarlisleThe review is of a wide range of vagrancy and street offences, including the nuisance which my hon. Friend has in mind. I cannot yet forecast when it will be completed.
§ Mr. HollandWould my hon. and learned Friend not agree that the judgment in 1966 not only classified women as second-class citizens in this area of the law but also revealed a discrepancy in the Sexual Offences Act—a discrepancy which should be dealt with as soon as the opportunity arises?
§ Mr. CarlisleI would not accept that the judgment classified women as second-class citizens. I agree that it threw up a discrepancy in the working of the Sexual Offences Act. This is the reason for the review.