Offender Management Bill

My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Gibson for moving the amendment, which enables us to clarify the Government’s position. I entirely respect the views that have been expressed from all around your Lordships’ House on the importance of the amendment. In particular, I dwell on the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, who rightly expressed concern about the importance for public safety of the issue. I am mindful of that. The amendment seeks to add the work that probation does in relation to the Parole Board to the definition of ““restricted probation provision”” in Clause 4. The Government fully understand those concerns. To demonstrate our commitment on this point, we have given a guarantee to Parliament that we will not contract with a non-public sector provider for core offender management work for three years, which was pointed out by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham. I am happy to assure noble Lords again that this guarantee includes the provision of assistance to the Parole Board. In addition, the new provision in Clause 3(7) would make explicit the contractual obligations that probation providers would be under to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between their duty to give advice impartially and their financial interest. That is an important issue, which is important to my noble friends Lady Gibson and Lady Turner. However, it is not appropriate to add this work to the restrictions in Clause 4. The clause was added to the Bill to meet the specific concerns that had rightly been expressed in relation to court work. Having listened carefully to our stakeholders and to the Members of the other place, we agreed that it was right that we should not seek to compete this area of work until we could demonstrate to the House that the safeguards in place were robust enough to meet those concerns. The work that probation does in relation to the Parole Board is of a different order, because robust safeguards are already in place. Probation involvement in the parole process is rigorously governed by the Parole Board Rules 2004, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, referred. It is our intention, as I think has been picked up by the noble Baroness, to strengthen that even further by revising the Parole Board Rules so that they take the form of a statutory instrument. That is extremely significant, because it requires parliamentary scrutiny. The noble Baroness asked when that statutory instrument will be brought forward. I cannot give her a precise date, but it is at the forefront of our thinking. If we were to decide that the time was right to open up this area of work, the rules would be rigorously applied to all the providers involved in delivering the work, regardless of whether they were from the public, private or voluntary sectors. With that in mind, I hope that my noble friends will agree that their amendment is unnecessary and that they will withdraw it. We greatly value the work that is done by the Probation Service, and we understand entirely the sensitivity of the work that it does in support of the Parole Board. From an earlier ministerial incarnation, and having read many of the reports that are prepared on Parole Board cases, I greatly respect the professionals who do the work, which is of the highest standard. It has to be so, for the very reasons referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe. I assure the House that we will pay very careful regard indeed in this policy area.