§ 31. Mrs. Clwydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the operations of the Criminal Justice Act 1982.
§ Mr. MellorThe Act, the main provisions of which came into force in May 1983, strengthened and made more flexible the powers of the courts in dealing with offenders, and introduced a new sentencing structure for young offenders. We are monitoring the use of the new powers closely, and will before long be publishing a statistical bulletin about the sentencing of young offenders since the Act came into force.