§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which(a) (i) religious and (ii) other bodies and (b) individuals have been invited to take part in the Review of Sex Offences; [72343]
(2) if he will list those (a) bodies and (b) individuals who have been invited to meet regularly with his Department's officials as part of the Review of Sex Offences. [72350]
§ Mr. BoatengThe following organisations and individuals form part of the steering group and external reference group of the review of sex offences under the chairmanship of the Home Office
(a)(i) Religious bodies
- CARE (Christian Action, Research and Education)
- Kairos in Soho
- Board of Deputies of British Jews
(a) (ii) Other bodies
- NSPCC
- The Law Society
- Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrates
- Association of Chief Police Officers
- Victim Support
- The Bar Council
- Barnardo's
- The Children's Society
- NCH Action for Children
- Blackliners
- Campaign to End Rape
- Rape Crisis Federation
- Stonewell
- St. Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre
- British Medical Association
- Women's National Commission
- MIND
- MENCAP
- Lord Chancellor's Department
- Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers
- Cabinet Office Women's Unit
- Department of Health
- Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
- Department for Employment and Education
- Northern Ireland Office
113 - Welsh Office
- Scottish Office
- Crown Prosecution Service
- Her Majesty's Treasury
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(b) Individuals
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
- Martin Bowley QC
- The Reverend Canon Donald Gray CBE TD PhD
- Reverend Chris Russell
- Dan Lambeth
- Professor Jennifer Temkin
- Dr. Liz Kelly.
No other bodies or individuals have been asked to meet regularly with my officials but there will be consultation conferences and seminars where other organisations and individuals will be able to contribute their views.
§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the closure date for submissions to the Review of Sex Offences is likely to be extended; [72349]
- (2) which (a) bodies and (b) individuals have been consulted to date as part of the Review of Sex Offences; [72346]
- (3) if (a) bodies and (b) individuals who have not been invited to meet regularly with his Department's officials as part of the Review of Sex Offences will have any further opportunity to contribute to the Review after the closure date for submissions. [72348]
§ Mr. BoatengThe review of sex offences is being carried out in an open and inclusive manner. The terms of reference were set out in a consultation leaflet issued on 25 January. The leaflet "A Review of Sex Offences" invites views on how the criminal law should apply in the area of sex offences, and asks for responses by 19 March 1999. Some 4,000 copies of the leaflet have been sent out to a wide cross-section of organisations and individuals concerned with criminal justice and social policy. The leaflet is also available on the Internet.
There are no plans formally to extend the period of this initial consultation which is intended to enable people to put their views on the present law in at the beginning so
114W that they can contribute directly to the work of the review at an early stage. The review would however like to continue to receive views as its work progresses.
Table A: Number of persons convicted at all courts of buggery offences by type of offence, England and Wales, 1987–97 Offence description 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Buggery with a boy under the age of sixteen or with a woman or animal 195 232 183 189 168 163 136 135 86 5 — Buggery by a man with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent 14 18 15 13 14 15 17 23 8 2 — Buggery by a man of the age of 21 or over with another male under the age of 21 with consent 10 20 12 9 10 12 4 7 1 — — Buggery by a man with another male other than above 6 15 3 4 5 3 5 1 2 — — Male member of staff of hospital or mental nursing home committing buggery or act of gross indecency with a male patient — — 1 — 1 — 1 — — — — Man committing buggery or an act of gross indecency with mentally disordered male patient who is subject to his care 2 — — — — 1 — — — — — Attempt to commit buggery with a boy under the age of 16 or with a woman or an animal 20 31 26 18 26 17 20 16 14 2 — Attempt by a man to commit buggery with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent 3 5 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 — — This initial consultation exercise will be followed by a series of conferences and seminars on particular aspects of sex offences, which will enable bodies and individuals who are not on the steering group or external review group to contribute to the work of the review.
The recommendations of the review will form the basis of further public consultation exercise on the proposals that emerge.
§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Review of Sex Offences will be considering raising the ages of consent for sexual activity. [72347]
§ Mr. BoatengThe review will be considering the whole framework of sex offences, which would include whether the ages of consent should be raised. We have already made it absolutely clear that this Government will not accept any reduction in the age of consent below that of 16 years.