SEXUAL OFFENCES (SCOTLAND) BILL [Lords]

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 25 October 1976.

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Photo of Mr Norman Buchan Mr Norman Buchan , Renfrewshire West 12:00, 25 October 1976

I support the compelling argument put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge and Airdrie (Mr. Dempsey). The Lord Advocate has told us that this Bill is not consolidating the law on all sexual offences. Therefore it is plain that a judgment has been made as to which offences should be included. The activity we are discussing in Clause 7 is the only offence not related to heterosexual offences. There is, therefore, since we have avoided other examples of this kind, a reason for leaving this one out, too.

A number of the other clauses deal with offences involving an under-age person. The homosexuality clause does not deal with this. It is a different type of clause altogether. For these reasons it seems that there is a good case for the Lord Advocate to say that, since not all sexual offences are being brought under this umbrella, homosexuality ought also to be left out.

Secondly, it cannot be too strongly emphasised that not all the people of Scotland are lawyers. If the Government introduce a consolidation measure in such terms as these, it is subject to all the penalties of attitude which the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind) and my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Cook) have described.

Thirdly, my right hon. and learned Friend asked us to look at this question in the light of the parliamentary situation—that is to say, of consolidation. He is now in the position of taking the voices of the House. Would it not be better for him to listen to those voices, raised from very varied quarters in the House, and to withdraw this provision in face of the basic arguments put to him? If he cannot do that because of the relationship between him and the Law Commission in the context of consolidation measures, can he not return to the Law Commission and ask it whether it would agree that it would be to the betterment of everyone if this provision were withdrawn?