Part of Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 4:30 pm ar 23 Hydref 2007.
Alun Michael
Llafur, De Caerdydd a Phenarth
4:30,
23 Hydref 2007
May I suggest that the answer to the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome might be made easier if we put aside the idea of a hierarchy, because I think that that sometimes gets in the way of sentencing in the courts? That is because one ends up with inappropriate sentences, due to the idea that the individual is somewhere on an inappropriate hierarchy. By contrast, what we have is a multi-faceted and serious option, which is the one that the Minister is addressing. However, a youngster who had committed an offence that led to a decision of guilt, but which was not a serious offence, might nevertheless undertake reparation. Is it not better, as my right hon. Friend the Minister of State rightly suggests, to make that provision available than to trap people in hierarchies?
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