Clause 24 - Positions of trust: interpretation
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
3:30 pm
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)
I shall speak to amendments Nos. 150 and 151, which were drafted by my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield. They would leave out the word ''regularly''.
I want to reinforce what the hon. Member for Romsey said. It would be helpful to get from the Under-Secretary—via his officials—a full definition of what is meant by the word ''regularly''. There are so many nuances in our language—in phrases such as ''from time to time'', ''frequently'' and ''regularly''.
In teaching and allied worlds in particular, there are many people who are undoubtedly in a position of trust but who may not be regularly in that position. I have in mind a few different examples of that. What about the person who runs a holiday camp for one week in the summer, where the children are dropped off by their parents and given sporting and other help and generally advised and looked after? Such holiday and sports camps are for one week a year, and then it is end of story. Is that regular? The peripatetic teacher was also a good example. However, what happens with the other teacher—the person who has control, is in a position of trust and who, once a month, drops in to a school? I suppose that such contact must be regarded as regular—or is it once every two months or once every three months? If I were on a jury, I should not want to decide such matters without knowing what the Government mean by ''regularly''.