Offender Management Bill

I welcome the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, and the noble Viscount, Lord Bridgeman. It has given the Government an opportunity to introduce Amendment No. 131. Having dealt with the Minister on equality matters ever since I came here, I have never doubted her commitment to racial equality. We are very grateful to her. I think that she will see why certain pointed questions are being asked. Equally, I have no doubt whatever that once the government amendment is included, the Commission for Racial Equality will be breathing down the Minister’s neck to see that every aspect of what has been asked for—for which the Government will be accountable—is implemented. It is important to have this debate because the Government’s actions in recent times have caused me some concern. For example, in an immigration case recently, the judge and the courts ruled that the Government had failed to work out the racial equality impact on that immigration matter. I know that that is not relevant here, but, somehow, we seem to miss out. As with the proof that is required for our legislation in terms of human rights, there is a need to prove our legislation in terms of race equality, which is an essential part of our diverse society. Yesterday, I asked the Minister about the UK Borders Bill. I am grateful for her assurance that an assessment will be made in due course to ensure that the provisions will apply appropriately to all citizens. However, before the legislation comes before this House, I am expecting some work to be undertaken on this implication. I am also delighted with the amendment proposed by the noble Baronesses, Lady Gibson of Market Rasen and Lady Turner. I know both their records on equality matters and I am pleased that those issues have been highlighted, although I shall not refer to them. No one in their right mind could ever object to these amendments, because Parliament has rightly established the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to co-ordinate this strategy on discrimination on any of the grounds that we are talking about. We need a categorical assurance from the Minister that, when functions are subcontracted to bodies such as private companies or charities, those bodies will be subject to the same duty under Section 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976. It will not only be the contractors that will be the subject of this matter, but also the subcontractors in many instances. Like many other noble Lords, I believe that black groups are massively over-represented in our criminal justice system. A quarter of the male and female prison population is from black and ethnic minority communities, against a representation of about 7 per cent in the general community. To an extent we have created this anomaly. Almost all the sentencing research that I have looked at points to the disadvantages that these communities face in the criminal justice process. That applies equally to pre-sentence reports, as the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, was good enough to mention. During my work, I have from time to time seen racial stereotyping within such reports, which could do a tremendous amount of damage particularly when sentencing methods are being considered. There is still no clear strategy in the Probation Service for working with racially motivated offenders. What do we do about those people? That was observed by HM Inspector of Probation. These amendments would help to rectify the situation. More important, agencies would be required to pool clients to demonstrate that they understand equality before the law, because equality before the law is an essential part of our democratic institution.