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Perjury
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 July, Official Report, column 470, on perjury convictions, what was the average length of time between commitment of the offence and the charge being brought in the last year for which figures are available. [8689]
Mr. Michael: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on time intervals for proceedings completed in magistrates' courts is collected by the Lord Chancellor's Department in selected sample weeks in February, June and October of each year. This includes the period from offence to charge or summons. Information for specific offences is not collected, as the sample size is not sufficiently large. In 1996, the average period from offence to charge or summons was 45 days for indictable offences (including triable either way offences).
Probation Service
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the serious incident reports procedure was set up for the Probation Service in England and Wales. [8900]
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious incident reports from each probation service in England and Wales have involved assaults against staff since May 1995. [8902]
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason no press notice accompanied Probation Circular 00/97. [8903]
Joyce Quin: Formal press notices are not issued on each occasion that circulars are issued but on this occasion, as on others, guidance was given to the press to put the circular in context.
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Ministers assessed the contents of the Probation Service circular on serious incidents reports issued on 30 June. [8905]
Joyce Quin:
The material in the circular was submitted to us shortly before issue.
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Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the murders reported as serious incidents by each probation service in England and Wales during 1996 were classed as (a) domestic, (b) in the furtherance of theft or gain, (c) suspect described as mentally disordered and (d) against a child under the age of one. [8904]
Joyce Quin:
In the period 16 November 1995 to 17 December 1996, at least 27 of the offences reported involved a victim who was a relative or a partner; and 27 of those charged with serious offences were described as mentally disordered to some extent. The other information sought is not available from the reports submitted by probation services. More detailed reporting requirements now apply.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders and acts of manslaughter have involved the use of illegal and unlicensed firearms in each of the last five years. [8809]
Mr. Michael
[holding answer 16 July 1997]: In the past, information on whether firearms used in the crime are legally held or not has not been collected centrally in England and Wales as a matter of routine. However, a special exercise was conducted last year to obtain further information on homicides involving firearms. This covered the three years 1992 to 1994, and out of a total of 196 homicides involving the use of a firearm, information was available in 129 cases to show the weapon was illegally held.
These figures refer to offences initially recorded as homicide. Information was not collected on whether the final classification was murder or manslaughter, which is not available until a court decision is reached. Nor do all offenders come to court, or the offence remains undetected.
In 1995, the last year for which figures are available, 398 burglaries and thefts of handguns were reported, and 3,517 of other firearms. This demonstrates that legally held firearms can become a source for illegal weapons and used in serious crime.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the Task Force on Youth Justice have previous experience of youth and community work; and if he will make a statement. [9136]
Mr. Michael:
A number of the members of the Task Force on Youth Justice have direct experience of working with young people within the youth justice system as distinct from within the youth service. There are no youth workers among them. The role of the Task Force, and the names and professions of those appointed to it, were set out in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 17 June, Official Report, columns 99-100.
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which European Union countries have
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higher age limits for mutual consent for homosexual acts in situations where the older person is in a position of authority, influence or trust. [9161]
Mr. Michael:
No European Union country makes specific provision for a higher age of consent for homosexual acts involving persons in positions of authority, influence or trust. Although it is difficult to make direct comparisons between countries with different legal systems, the following countries have special provision to deal with circumstances where one of the participants is older than the other:
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to introduce changes in the age of mutual consent for homosexual acts in the next Criminal Justice Bill. [9160]
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Mr. Michael:
The Crime and Disorder Bill is intended to deliver our manifesto commitments on tackling youth crime, disorder and sentencing. The Government have long held the view that setting the age of consent for consensual homosexual acts is a matter for Parliament to decide, and that it should be the subject of a free vote at a suitable opportunity. It seems unlikely that the scope of the Crime and Disorder Bill will be wide enough to provide that opportunity.
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates of legislation currently in force relating to the age of mutual consent in respect of sexual acts between (a) males and females and (b) males and males. [9157]
Mr. Michael:
The information requested is as follows:
Mr. Ashton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been instigated for sexual offences against males under the age of 18 years in each of the last 20 years; and how many of these offences were committed by older men in positions of authority, influence or trust. [9159]
Mr. Michael:
Limited information, for the years 1979 to 1995, on the number of males aged 21 and over prosecuted for sexual offences involving younger men is given in the table below.
Information regarding the status of a defendant is not collected centrally. Also, offence information is not available to the detail required for the years prior to 1979.
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Austria
The age of consent for sexual acts is 14. However, it is illegal for a male over 19 to commit homosexual acts with a male between 14 and 18.
Belgium
The age of consent for sexual acts is 16. Heavier penalties are available for those who abuse a position of authority.
Italy
The age of consent for sexual acts is 14. However, if one of the participants is an older family member or guardian, the age of consent is raised to 16.
Netherlands
The age of consent for sexual acts is 16, but a person between the ages of 12 and 16 who commits a sexual act with another person between those ages, cannot be prosecuted unless there is a complaint from the other participant, a parent or guardian. A person over 16 who commits a sexual act with a person under 16 is liable to prosecution regardless of whether a complaint has been made.
Portugal
The age of consent for sexual acts is 16. However, it is illegal for a person of 18 or over to commit sexual acts with a person under 18.
Spain
There is no statutory age of consent. In general, consensual sexual relations are not penalised from the age of 12, although a person aged over 16 who has sex with a person between 12 and 16 may be liable to prosecution.
(a) Males and Females
Sexual Offences Act 1956 section 6. This makes it an offence for a man to have unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16. A statutory age of consent at 16 was first enacted in 1885.
(b) Males and Males
Before 1967, all homosexual acts were illegal. The current controls are set out in the Sexual Offences Act 1956: section 12 and the Sexual Offences Act 1967, section 1 (both as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 section 143). The age of consent for consensual homosexual acts in private was set at 21 in 1967 and reduced to 18 in 1994.
| Offence description | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act Section 3(1) | |||||||
| Buggery with a boy under 16 or with a woman or an animal | 119 | 178 | 167 | 119 | 167 | 142 | 155 |
| Buggery by a man with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent | 20 | 25 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 19 |
| Buggery by a man with another male under the age of 21 with consent | 22 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 19 | 12 | 19 |
| Attempt to commit buggery with a boy under 16 or with a woman or an animal | 15 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| Attempt by a man to commit buggery with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent | -- | 2 | 3 | 3 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Attempt by a man to commit buggery with another male under the age of 21 with consent | 4 | 1 | 2 | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Section 143 | |||||||
| Buggery by a male of a male under 16 | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- |
| Buggery by a male with a male aged 16 or 17 | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- |
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 15 | |||||||
| Indecent assault on male under 16 | 449 | 431 | 429 | 463 | 450 | 442 | 475 Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 13 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967 Section 3(2) |
| Indecency by a man with another male under the age of 21 | 235 | 268 | 230 | 210 | 227 | 221 | 196 |
| Man procuring or attempting to procure or being party to the commission by a man under 21 of an act of gross indecency with another man | 31 | 25 | 39 | 29 | 33 | 15 | 106 |
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12, Schedule [16] as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1964 Section 144 | |||||||
| Gross indecency by a male with a male aged under 18 | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- |
| Male procuring or attempting to procure or being party to the commission by a male under 18 of an act of gross indecency with another male | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- | (2)-- |
(2) Not applicable.
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| Offences description | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act Section 3(1) | ||||||||||
| Buggery with a boy under 16 or with a woman or an animal | 145 | 213 | 267 | 238 | 279 | 247 | 290 | 257 | 291 | 110 |
| Buggery by a man with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent | 22 | 13 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 36 | 33 | 23 | 3 |
| Buggery by a man with another male under the age of 21 with consent | 19 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Attempt to commit buggery with a boy under 16 or with a woman or an animal | 18 | 15 | 18 | 26 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 9 | 17 | 6 |
| Attempt by a man to commit buggery with a male of the age of 16 or over without consent | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -- | 2 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| Attempt by a man to commit buggery with another male under the age of 21 with consent | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -- | 2 | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Section 143 | ||||||||||
| Buggery by a male of a male under 16 | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | 41 |
| Buggery by a male with a male aged 16 or 17 | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | 1 |
| Sexual offences Act 1956 Section 15 | ||||||||||
| Indecent assault on male under 16 | 393 | 446 | 461 | 450 | 470 | 449 | 371 | 358 | 361 | 334 |
| Sexual offences Act 1956 Section 13 as amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967 Section 3(2) | ||||||||||
| Indecency by a man with another male under the age of 21 | 227 | 254 | 269 | 384 | 420 | 182 | 191 | 88 | 71 | 47 |
| Man procuring or attempting to procure or being party to the commission by a man under 21 of an act of gross indecency with another man | 37 | 40 | 61 | 89 | 71 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 8 |
| Sexual Offences Act 1956 Section 12 Schedule 2(16) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1964 Section 144 | ||||||||||
| Gross indecency by a male with a male aged under 18 | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | 10 |
| Male procuring or attempting to procure or being party to the commission by a male under 18 of an act of gross indecency with another male | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | (3)-- | 1 |
(3) Not applicable.
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