Minimum Sentences (Hansard, 10 April 2000)

§ 33. Mr. Day
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to bring forward legislation to increase the number of mandatory minimum sentences for persistent offenders. [116821]

§ Mr. Charles Clarke
The Government have no plans to bring forward legislation for this purpose.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what agreement has been reached between EU member states in respect of EU-wide minimum prison sentences; in respect of what criminal offences; and if he will make a statement. [118077]
70W

§ Mr. Boateng
[holding answer 7 April 2000]: Article 31(e) of the Treaty on European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, provides that common action on judicial co-operation in criminal matters shall include progressively adopting measures establishing minimum rules relating to the constituent elements of criminal acts and to penalties in the fields of organised crime, terrorism and illicit drug trafficking".
The conclusions of the Tampere European Council state that efforts to agree on common definitions, incriminations and sanctions should be focused in the first instance on a limited number of sectors of particular relevance, such as financial crime (money laundering, corruption, euro counterfeiting), drugs trafficking, trafficking in human beings, particularly exploitation of women, sexual exploitation of children, high tech crime and environmental crime" (paragraph 48).
The Government support the priorities established at Tampere, and consider that steps taken to implement action in furtherance of these priorities can make a significant contribution to combating cross-border and organised crime.

§ Mr. Lidington
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which criminal offences in England and Wales are punishable by the imposition of a minimum determinate prison sentence for the first or second offence, indicating the minimum in each case. [118074]

§ Mr. Boateng
[holding answer 7 April 2000]: There are no criminal offences that attract an automatic minimum determinate prison sentence for either a first or second offence by a given offender.
Section 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 provides for those who are convicted of a second serious sexual or violent offence to be sentenced to life imprisonment (an indeterminate sentence).