§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will seek to amend the law so that a suspended sentence supervision order would be made in the case of a suspended sentence of imprisonment of six months or less, in order to ensure that such orders could be made in cases involving persons under the age of 21 years whose sentences of imprisonment are subject to the statutory maximum of six months.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsNo. Section 26 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 empowers the Secretary of State, by order, to extend the power to make suspended sentence supervision order to suspended sentences of imprisonment of six months or less, but I do not propose to exercise that power for the present.