Clause 16
12:45 pm
Paul Holmes (Chesterfield, Liberal Democrat)
I have a brief point to make that follows on from the comments that have just been made. I wonder about the rationale behind the three meetings that somebody convicted of loitering for prostitution could be sent to under the clause. Will the Minister explain how we arrived at three? What is the effectiveness of three meetings? Are they three half-hour meetings or three one-day meetings? What duration are we talking about? Who will organise the meetings—the National Offender Management Service or private sector bodies that have won the contract? Will they be paid for from the NOMS budget or will money be made available?
There appear to be no arrangements to ensure that completion is noted by the court and the police. Can the order be a repeat order or is it a one-off? Can someone be sentenced to three meetings and a year later be sentenced to three meetings again as a repeat offender? Under proposed new section 1A(4)(b), which is in clause 16(3), the court will, if sentencing somebody to attend the three meetings within a six-month period, specify for up to six months where the person resides. That could be seen as fairly draconian. How will it be monitored and what are the penalties if the person moves in that period of up to six months?