§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have any plans to amend section 55 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 to require parents or guardians of children over the age of 14 years to pay fines imposed on their children when convicted of offences.
§ Mr. BrittanWe have no immediate plans to amend section 55, but we shall look at this provision, among others, in considering what changes are needed in the law relating to juvenile offenders.
§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many orders have been made by the courts for the attachment of earnings of a parent or guardian for the payment of compensation for damage caused by a juvenile in criminal proceedings in the period since 1974;
(2) how many compensation orders have been made against the parents or guardians of children between the ages of 14 and 17 years convicted of offences since 1974.
§ Mr. BrittanThe information is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have any intention of in- 98W troducing legislation to clarify the definitions of " child ", " minor " and " young person " in English law.
§ Mr. BrittanThe words are statutorily defined for each purpose for which they are used, and we do not consider that any general clarifying legislation is needed.