§ Mr. Robert McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make it his policy to seek to amend the Sexual Offences (Protected Material) Bill to extend its provisions to Northern Ireland from the time of its coming into force; and if he will make a statement on the merits of the Bill in relation to Northern Ireland. [19930]
§ Sir John WheelerThe Bill has been drafted to meet the particular circumstances in England and Wales as identified by responses to the Home Office consultation document "Sentencing and Supervision of Sex Offenders" which was issued in June 1996. The Law Society in England and Wales has undertaken to amend its code of discipline so as to ensure that defence lawyers comply with the provisions in the Bill on supervised access.
309WThe Home Office document was also circulated in Northern Ireland. On the particular issue of the misuse of victim's statements, the Northern Ireland responses did not produce any evidence of a major concern but did indicate a general consensus on the importance of developing solutions which reflected the needs of Northern Ireland.
The Government believe that the matters addressed by the Bill do merit application in Northern Ireland and intends to bring forward legislation after appropriate consultation with interested parties.