Clause 5
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
1:30 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I support the hon. and learned Gentleman’s contention. It has some force in the case of the youngest offenders—those under 16—as it would seem entirely appropriate to take into consideration the family’s religious beliefs. We ought to assume that young persons aged over 16 have formed their own religious beliefs and are capable of answering the question properly themselves, but it is not unreasonable for an inquiry to be made about the family’s religious background in the case of younger offenders. I hope that the Minister will be sympathetic to that view.