Public Protection

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and his efforts to protect the public in this very difficult area. I particularly welcome the creation of the violent offender order and his comments about mental health. I am sure that he will accept, as we all do, that risk cannot ever be completely eliminated and that it would be unrealistic to think so. These proposals will make much more specific demands on the probation service and probably require more resources for it to carry them out. Will he comment on that?