David Ruffley has today slammed the Government following his questioning of Home Office Ministers over the number of Child Curfew Orders issued in Suffolk.

David questioned Vernon Coaker and Gerry Sutcliffe, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries at the Home Office, and established that 61 Child Curfew Orders were issued in Suffolk during 2005, the latest year for which figures are available. This was an increase of 51 percent on the number of orders issued in 2004.

However, the Government was unable to tell David how many of these orders had been breached because 'quality checks have shown that the data is unsuitable for publication'.

David said:

'The number of Child Curfew Orders issued in Suffolk has increased in every year since 1998. Between 2004 and 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, there was a 51 percent increase in the number of orders issued.

'However, the Home Office is unable to tell me whether these orders are actually working.

'It seems ridiculous to me that over the last seven years this Government has been issuing Child Curfew Orders but keeping no reliable record of the number of breaches.

'We in Suffolk had 61 such orders issued in 2005 but we don't actually know if they are making any real difference to the lives of the people they are supposed to protect.

'I have today written to the Home Secretary, John Reid, and asked precisely what he is doing to ensure that Child Curfew Orders are correctly monitored and what reassurance he can give to Suffolk residents that these orders are actually dealing with anti-social behaviour.'