Offender Management Bill

moved Amendment No. 90: 90: Clause 10, page 6, line 25, leave out ““approved premises”” and insert ““probation and bail hostels”” The noble Baroness said: I hope that I can be relatively brief. Amendment No. 90 is intended to probe the consequences of a statement made by the Minister Mr Sutcliffe in the Committee that considered the Bill in another place on 18 January 2007. He was responding to the same amendment, which was moved by my honourable friend Mr Edward Garnier. My honourable friend was concerned to press the Government to give assurances about the standard and training of those who would run approved premises— the old probation and bail hostels—in the future. The names have changed, but we want the same standards. Clause 10 gives the Secretary of State very wide powers to approve accommodation and set regulations on their management. When the Minister responded, he stated: "““There are issues about accommodation in addition to approved premises which I am sure we will come back to when we consider the outcome of the child sex offenders review that the Government are currently undertaking. There are a great many issues around resettlement””.—[Official Report, Commons Standing Committee A, 19/1/07; col. 157.]" Indeed there are. The Bill has now progressed some five months, although perhaps the Minister might feel that it has not progressed quite far enough, given that we are only at Clause 10 after three days; but we are getting there, we really are. I say this with the Chief Whip in front of me. We will get there one day, just not this day. What further work have the Government done on this issue and what stage has the review of child sex offenders reached? What assurances can the Minister give regarding the standards that will have to be met in resettling sex offenders after the passage of the Bill. I beg to move.