Clause 121 - Risk of sexual harm orders: applications, grounds and effect

Part of Sexual Offences Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 5:30 pm on 14 October 2003.

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Photo of Annette Brooke Annette Brooke Shadow Spokesperson (Home Affairs) 5:30, 14 October 2003

I beg to move amendment No. 257, in

clause 121, page 64, line 17, at end add—

'(8) The use of Risk of Sexual Harm Orders (RHSOs) will be carefully monitored by the Home Office and the numbers of orders made will be reported annually to Parliament.'.

The amendment reflects a further recommendation from the Select Committee on Home Affairs. We have already discussed some of the issues by drawing a comparison with ASBOs. I was not going to make such a comparison, but it has been made now. Because of the way in which the orders operate, with the proof having to be of criminal standard, and because there has been a lot of debate about ASBOs being difficult, there is a strong case for ensuring careful monitoring. There was an excellent monitoring and evaluation report on ASBOs, which was helpful for the future.

I also included in the amendment the idea that the numbers should be reported to Parliament annually. I am the first to say that numbers are not everything, but they nevertheless form a basis for debate. These orders are new, so there is a strong argument for having them monitored carefully by parliamentarians. I am not necessarily waiting for two-year evaluations of the whole picture, so an annual report would be useful. The question is whether that needs to be in the Bill or just a commitment.