Emergency Workers (Protection) Bill

We need to be honest about what influences 16-year-olds’ behaviour. The hon. Gentleman is right that guidance from the Sentencing Guidelines Council does not tend to make much difference to them, but I am not convinced that the existence of an aggravating factor does, either. Sentencing can have an impact if it has serious and clear consequences. It is important to use education and community sentences. We must ensure that the message that we have been sharing with each other during the debate is not kept in the confines of the Chamber, but spread more widely by campaigns such as the ““protect our heroes”” campaign, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley (Barbara Keeley) and is run by the Manchester Evening News, and the respect campaign. The message must go out to young people that emergency workers could save their mums, families, or friends. We must decide the most effective technique that will ensure that people who are tempted to commit such an offence are deterred—that is what all of us want—and that those who commit the offence are effectively prosecuted and convicted.