I sympathise with the idea behind the amendment. The hon. Member for Mole Valley knows from the time when I chaired the taskforce that I appreciate all his work not only on the Bill but in this area. I know the spirit in which he has tabled the amendment.

There is an issue about the possible return of computers—or, as the hon. Gentleman says, other kinds of equipment on which indecent photographs can be stored—to a person who has used them to commit an offence under the Protection of Children Act 1999. The hon. Gentleman acknowledged that we must consider several issues.

On one hand, I share the hon. Gentleman's concern that the existing legislative provisions for making an order are not always applied for or thought about. I have discussed the matter with officials, and we cannot say hand on heart that there is a robust mechanism that will always retain computers and equipment containing such material. On the other hand, we must work out several sets of issues. First, the hon. Gentleman mentioned the drafting of the amendment, which is a technical issue that we can take away. Secondly, as has been said, there are apparently problems with permanently removing material from the hard drive. Furthermore, such material is often stored not on the hard drive but on floppy discs. Thirdly, how can we deal with equipment that is owned by someone who has not committed the offence? We must work our way round those issues and think of ways to accommodate that problem both in its own right and in relation to the technical issues, which I have just outlined.

If the hon. Gentleman agrees not to press the amendment to a vote, I will certainly take away the spirit of his proposals to see whether we can return on Report with something that addresses the issues that I have outlined while assuring the Committee that a robust mechanism will be in place to ensure that equipment is not returned when we suspect that it contains such material.