Public Protection

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and note that it will require still closer working relationships between prisons and the probation service in the community. I know from my recent discussions and meetings with the north Wales probation service that there is great concern locally that the proposal for an all-Wales probation service does not take sufficient account of the fact that there are no prisons in north Wales and that services from the north-west will not be as closely integrated as they are at present. Will my right hon. Friend consider those concerns carefully and ensure that they are properly addressed in future?