§ 22. Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the efficacy of current measures to deal with persistent juvenile offenders.
§ Mr. MacleanI refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill) on 24 June,Official Report, column 255.
§ 27. Mr. Win GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about measures he is taking to deal with offenders under the age of 18 years.
§ Mr. MacleanI refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) on 2 March,Official Report, columns 139–50, in which he announced the Government's intention to provide courts with a new sentence, provisionally entitled a secure training order, to assist them in dealing with persistent juvenile offenders. Further measures are under consideration to bring the necessary legislation before the House as soon as possible.