Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill [HL]

Key Points

• - Originating house: Lords (a Lords Bill).
• - Purpose: raise the age of criminal responsibility.
• - Current stage: 2nd reading in the Lords; first reading occurred on 4 February 2020.
• - Impact: would change who can be treated as criminally responsible, affecting youth justice procedures and decisions by police, prosecutors and courts.
• - Implementation: specific age threshold and how it would operate are defined in the Bill.

Progress

The Bill has completed its first reading and is now at the 2nd reading in the Lords. It still needs to go through further readings in the Lords and then be considered by the House of Commons before any potential passage into law.