Member

To conclude, while I realise that my noble friend Lady Chakrabarti, the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, and those who have spoken in support of this amendment are unlikely to be satisfied with this response, I reiterate that this Government are instinctively unhappy with the idea of criminalising very young children. While we believe that the current age of criminal responsibility is appropriate at the moment, I assure my noble friend that the Government keep all aspects of youth justice under continual review. We welcome debate about and scrutiny of our record in relation to this difficult subject. But we are of the view that, if we were to look at this issue again, it should be done through a carefully considered procedure, such as the one adopted by Scotland, rather than through an amendment. With that in mind, I hope that my noble friend will understand why the Government are not supporting her amendment today, and I invite her to withdraw it.