Isles of Scilly

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

I shall be brief. Years of experience have led me to form the view that, if I wish to disconcert Ministers in charge of criminal justice Bills, I should ask them either about courts martial, Northern Ireland or British overseas territories. Northern Ireland simply will not work in this respect, because two of the Ministers know far more about it than I do, and courts martial have been covered, but I have never before considered the possibilities of asking about the Isles of Scilly, which form part of the English and Welsh jurisdiction.

I assume that the rest of the Bill applies, unamended, to the Isles of Scilly and that the clause refers only to part 1. However, I am keen to ensure that the orders, which it appears now can be evaded by going to Thurso, cannot also be evaded by going to Tresco, because that may be a temptation to young hooligans in Penzance and Newlyn, for whom that would not be a huge journey. Can I just be assured that the principal objectives of the rehabilitation orders will take effect in the Isles of Scilly and that the Minister’s intention in including a power to exempt by order is not to remove any significant part of the orders that we have debated?

As ever, I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I hope that, as he said, I cannot be caught out by him on Northern Ireland. Having had two years there as Minister of State, I feel as though I can answer any questions relating to Northern Ireland. In relation to our discussion earlier about Scotland, I have already indicated that I will write to him to clarify that point and, although I feel that it is covered, I will reflect on what he said.

I know little about the Isles of Scilly except that the former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, used to holiday there. [Interruption.] And apparently he is buried there. Apart from that, I cannot string a sentence together on  the Isles of Scilly. However, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the youth rehabilitation order will have effect in the Isles of Scilly, with such exceptions and adaptations as the Secretary of State may specify. Unlike areas of England and Wales, the Isles of Scilly are not a county or a district council, so the Secretary of State may need to make some adaptations by order in order to reflect the curious nature of the jurisdiction of the Isles of Scilly. It will not alter the fact that the youth rehabilitation order will have effect in the Isles of Scilly and will, I hope, prevent reoffending by whatever Isles of Scilly residents are called these days.

Nor is the common council of the City of London, and there was no problem in inserting that into clause 7’s definition of a local authority. That is normally what is done with the Isles of Scilly, and I wondered why we need a separate order. I need not extend the debate further though.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.