Offender Management Bill

I have put my name to Amendment No. 41A and I support Amendment No. 41. The duty involved in the amendment goes far beyond the simple hope of eliminating discrimination. It forces employers to act positively in all policies and practices, both new and old, and to address all gender issues in action plans. In the Probation Service, that would include ensuring that women offenders had the opportunity to meet women staff and be supervised by women staff, that the victims of domestic violence were offered services and that offender groups and unpaid work were also gender specific. The amendments would impose on providers of probation services a duty to collect information that allows them to understand the impact of their work on black and ethnic minority people, disabled people, women and men. Providers would have to undertake to put their efforts and resources where those would have the most impact on race, disability and gender equality, and they would have to recognise that they must achieve outcomes in equality areas. They would have to consult relevant people both inside and outside the organisation, including voluntary and community organisations with specialist knowledge of race, disability and gender equality, to seek transparency of operation and to publish race, disability and gender schemes and associated action plans, consultations and the results of consultations. They would also have to monitor the results and impact assessments of current and proposed procedures. In other words, the amendments propose a positive programme for all these areas and I hope that the Government will be prepared to support them.