§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he hopes to complete his studies of the possible introduction of community service orders in Scotland and on identifying effective non-custodial penalties, such as community youth service, for the use of the courts in appropriate cases, in the light of the results of pioneer schemes, initiated by the Home Office, under the Criminal Justice Act; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe present experiments on the use of community service orders and day treatment centres in England and Wales are being monitored by the Home Office Research Unit. I propose to await its findings before deciding whether the range of non-custodial sentences available to the courts could usefully be strengthened in Scotland.