§ Mr. Patrick ThompsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he intends to introduce legislation for Northern Ireland concerning the treatment of young offenders.
§ Mr. StanleyMy Department has published today a proposal for a draft Order in Council entitled the Treatment of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1988. The draft order includes a number of measures which would provide alternatives to custodial sentences and give the courts greater flexibility particularly when dealing with young offenders.
Among the more important changes is the reduction in the maximum period of detention in a training school from three years to two years and a reduction in the age for community service orders from 17 to 16. The proposal also
280WNote 1: The good practice document is called "Good Practice in Education Paper No. 2: Modern Language Teaching", published by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland 1985.
Note 2: The recent higher education courses incorporating an Irish language component are:
- At the Queen's University of Belfast:
- An Honours Degree in Irish Studies
- Two postgraduate courses in Irish Studies
- At the University of Ulster:
- A Diploma in Higher Education
- An Honours Degree
- A Postgraduate Diploma