Offender Management Bill

Like many other noble Lords who have served on charities, I am afraid that it is all too easy to recognise the scenario of waiting to see whether your contract will be renewed, knowing that the money paid will not exactly match the full cost of what you are providing. So I have a great deal of sympathy in that regard. I, too, share the concern expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, and my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham about some aspects of what is proposed. I point out that the low percentage of contracts with charities, which was perfectly fair in the early part of this century, was certainly not a desirable aspect of the relationships that the Probation Service had with those charities. However, as the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, said, the figure is going up. All the signs in the documents that we have seen are that the charities also wish to embrace the partnership approach. There is a danger in setting specific targets. As has been acknowledged, many targets may not have been kept to when they were set in the past. It may be better not to push the matter to a vote at this stage but to take very careful note of what has been said.