My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 220. I feel very strongly about the issue of the age of responsibility of children. I first raised it in this House in 2006, when a Labour Government dismissed it out of hand. I was for 35 years a family judge dealing with children; I happen also to have brought up three children, and I care about children. In 2006, what is now known about young children and the maturation of their brains was not particularly well known, but a great deal of evidence has now come forward. It was looked at by the Select Committee on Justice in the other place in November of last year.
Psychiatrists gave evidence, in particular about the fact that young children aged 10—and, for goodness’ sake, a child of 10 is young—do not really mature until considerably later. We have only to look at what is happening across Europe as an example. Scotland has raised the age to 12. The age of responsibility across Europe is either 12 or, in more places, 14. We remain at 10. I think it is probably because successive Governments, on both sides of this House, are afraid of what the public will say.
11.30 am
Let me give the House an example: the appalling crime of the killing of Jamie Bulger. The two children were 10. One of the newspapers had a cut-out asking readers to send in the coupon if they thought that the children should stay in prison for the rest of their lives; 84,000 people in this country signed it, to say that 10 year-olds should live the rest of their lives in prison.
Four or five years ago, the four Children’s Commissioners of the United Kingdom wrote a joint report saying that this country was the most punitive against children of any country in Europe—and my goodness me, those 84,000 people give one a pretty good idea. But we really have to move on. There is so much more evidence as to what can be understood about the maturation of the brains of children.
It is interesting that, so far—and certainly at the Select Committee chaired by Sir Robert Neill MP—the Minister, Lucy Frazer MP, has said she thinks that there is no likelihood of the Government changing their view that the age of responsibility should remain at 10. The world has moved on, but the Government have not. The Government appear to have shut their ears to what is now so blindingly obvious. I ask the Government just to open their ears a little, and at least look at the research and come back to both Houses and do what is the obvious—I use the word “obvious” again—and raise the age to 12.
As the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, is not present, it falls on me to urge the Government to accept Amendment 220.