Public Protection

I also thank the Home Secretary for his courtesy in providing an advance copy of the statement. There is no easy solution to the problems that we face, and Liberal Democrat Members will support any constructive or workable proposals to improve public safety against the actions of dangerous offenders. The Home Secretary will remember that we supported the Government in 2003, when they sought to create a new indefinite sentence for the most dangerous individuals, and I agree with his acknowledgment today that the new powers cannot be used retrospectively. I broadly welcome the package of alternative measures outlined in the Home Secretary’s statement. The proposal to extend post-custody supervision for those sentenced before April 2005 is particularly welcome, as are all attempts to improve the assessment of risk. According to Andrew Bridges, the chief inspector of probation, only 20 per cent. of offenders who go on to commit serious offences while on parole were assessed as being high risk. The statement leaves two questions unanswered. First, is the new system of early release really providing the maximum protection for the public? In the debates in this House during the passage of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the rules on early release were changed in the teeth of opposition from both Liberal Democrat and Conservative Members. Before the implementation of the 2003 Act, the Parole Board had discretion whether to release long-term prisoners at the 50 per cent. point of their sentence and, if there was a reasonable concern about public safety, release could be delayed until the two-thirds point. The 2003 Act removed that discretion from the Parole Board. In view of the cases that have been cited today, will the Home Secretary agree to review that change? Secondly, how much will the increase in supervision cost, and how many additional probation officers will be needed? A key problem faced by probation staff and by those involved in multi-agency public protection arrangements is how to apportion scarce resources, which is compounded in turn by a desperately overcrowded prison system in which staff often do not have time to assess individuals properly. What will the Home Secretary do to tackle the severe underlying problems of an overcrowded prison system and an overloaded probation service? We will, of course, respond constructively and in detail to the Home Secretary’s proposals on violent offender orders later in the summer. Will the Home Secretary assure the House that before that step is taken there will be a proper evaluation of the success of sexual offences prevention orders, which would appear to be the model that the Home Secretary has in mind?