Rehabilitation and Sentencing

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 3:34 pm on 7 December 2010.

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Photo of Clive Efford Clive Efford Labour, Eltham 3:34, 7 December 2010

May I suggest that the Secretary of State visit, as I did recently, the Isis centre at Belmarsh prison, which is taking some innovative steps towards rehabilitating young offenders? With that in mind, I think that young offenders sometimes need custodial sentences to turn their lives around. Will he confirm therefore that judges will not have the discretion to give anything other than a custodial sentence to someone who uses a knife in a criminal act?