§ Sir A. Wilsonasked the Home Secretary whether he has considered the request addressed to him by the Central Association for Young Wayfarers for an amendment to the Vagrancy Act, 1824, which will enable petty sessional courts, as an alternative to the imposition of sentences of imprisonment on persons convicted of vagrancy offences, to commit suitable cases to instructional training centres under the Ministry of Labour; and whether he can yet state what action it is proposed to take in this matter?
§ Sir S. HoareI have seen a copy of a letter sent to my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Health, by the Central Association for Young Wayfarers' Hostels. The Criminal Justice Bill now before Parliament proposes alternative methods to imprisonment for the treatment of young offenders convicted of any offence including offences against the Vagrancy Act, 1824, and I am not satisfied that there is any sufficient reason for providing some special and exceptional form of treatment for persons who may commit one of the many miscellaneous offences covered by that Act.