Commentary on Sections Part 3: Miscellaneous Section 60: Parenting orders
303.This section amends the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”) to take account of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Currently section 8 of the 1998 Act provides for a court to make a parenting order in the same proceedings in which it makes a sex offender order in respect of a child or young person. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 repealed the sex offender order provisions and replaced them with sexual offences prevention orders (“SOPOs”). Subsection (2)(a) amends section 8 of the 1998 Act by replacing the reference to a sex offender order with a reference to a SOPO thus allowing courts to make a parenting order in the same proceedings in which it makes a SOPO against a child or young person provided it would be desirable in preventing a repetition of the kind of behaviour that led to the SOPO being made. Subsection (2)(b) defines a SOPO by reference to section 104 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Subsection (3) removes the redundant definition of a sex offender order from the 1998 Act. Subsection (4) provides that parenting orders will be available in proceedings in which a SOPO is made before as well as after this Act is passed.