Offender Management Bill

I support my noble friend Lord Ramsbotham in calling for a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. We have spoken a lot about reducing reoffending and have heard that the purpose of the Bill is to reduce it. I revert to some research that I mentioned on the first day of Committee, which seems an awfully long time ago. I described the eight points that that research gave us—““Eight Principles for Supporting Desistance in Criminal Justice””, or what actually helps people to give up crime. I mentioned two of the principles on that occasion and promised some more. I would now like to quote the eighth, which is to ““promote redemption””: "““In some respects, the criminal justice system is pretty good at condemning people. But we also need to think about ways in which criminal justice policy and practice can recognise and reward efforts to change and to desist, so as to encourage and confirm positive change. For ex-offenders, there has to be an ending to their punishment and some means of signalling their redemption and re-inclusion within their communities and wider society””." The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is very important to the aims of the Bill in reducing reoffending. If people are ostracised for years, if they have to declare convictions for years and therefore cannot get work, they stay in the outcast part of society and crime is not reduced. I very much support the amendment.