Ministers plan a minimum tariff of 15 years for children who receive life sentences.

The proposals, to be set out in the Criminal Justice Bill, led the Children's Society to seek the views of ePolitix.com Forum members on whether the law should treat children in the same way as adults.

A spokesman for the Home Office told ePolitix.com: "The murder principles published last week aim to provide clarity, consistency and confidence in the sentencing of those who commit the most serious and heinous of crimes. In doing so, the principles draws a clear distinction between adults and juveniles. If the offender is a juvenile the starting point will always be the 15 year point, and not the whole life or 30 year starting points to which certain categories of adult murderers may be subject.

"Moreover, the draft principles include the age of the offender as a mitigating factor that should be taken into account when determining the minimum term. In the case of a juvenile the courts will attach considerable weight to this factor. This will have the effect of producing minimum terms for juvenile murderers that may be below the starting point of 15 years in all but those rare heinous cases, especially in the case of very young juveniles. It is only right that parliament should set the framework for sentencing this most abhorrent of crimes to ensure confidence in the criminal justice system."

Forum Response: The Children's Society

Patricia Durr, parliamentary liaison officer at the Children's Society, told ePolitix.com: "The Children's Society is concerned about the home secretary's announcement that he will attempt to establish a minimum tariff of 15 years for children who receive life sentences in the Criminal Justice Bill.

"Currently sentencing is left to the discretion of the judiciary. The charity believes that this will lead to more children being locked up for longer periods. Sentencing needs to reflect children's developing maturity and capacity for change.

"What we want to see a system that is separate to that of adults. At the moment a child of ten will be treated as criminally responsible as an adult. This is one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in western Europe and we need to change this. From our experience children and young people do not understand the over-complicated criminal justice system - they fail to engage with it because it's designed for adults.

"What we've got before us is a legislative programme that includes an overhaul of criminal justice legislation but without highlighting the needs of children and young people."

Forum Response: Barnardo's

Tink Palmer, principal policy officer at Barnardo's, told ePolitix.com: "Barnardo's believes that criminal legislation for children should be separate from that of the adult based system, which pays little attention to the particular issues of children.

"At present the youth justice system is rooted in and seen as an addendum to an adult based system. What such a system fails to take into account is the fact that children are still developing both cognitively and emotionally and their levels of understanding or ability to be self-determining and responsible are limited.

"What Barnardo's advocates is that the whole child should be viewed first and the problem behaviour seen as a symptomatic issue which needs addressing, often among other problems."

Forum Response: National Youth Agency

Hilary Spiers, communications director at the National Youth Agency, told ePolitix.com: "No, the NYA does not believe that children and young people should be dealt with in the same way as adults in the law.

"It supports those principles outlined in the Manifesto of the National Association for Youth Justice that differentiate between adult justice and youth justice.

"Children and young people in the youth justice system should always be considered as potentially being 'in need' and vulnerable. They should never be held in adult prisons.

"The basic principles of child welfare and children's and young people's rights applied in other settings should apply to youth justice."