Offender Management Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do not insist on its Amendments Nos. 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13 and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 8A in lieu. Before I deal with the substance of the Motion, I should like briefly to remind the House how far we have come in our consideration of this Bill and how much it has improved as a result. The Government have listened carefully to the points made here and in the other place and we have made amendments on its aims, the restriction of court work to the public sector, national standards, training, pay, local area agreements, plans and consultation. Moreover, even at this late stage, we have made further amendments on conflict of interest and order-making powers for the establishment of trusts. However, we are now reaching the point where we need to finalise the provisions in the Bill. The Commons agreed. Your Lordships will be aware of the real concerns which existed in the other place when the Bill had its Report and Third Reading stages in February. Your Lordships will also be aware that a number of the Government’s own supporters went so far as to vote against the Bill at Third Reading. But Lords Amendment No. 6 was disagreed to by a majority of 128. The other place has now recognised the improvements which have been made and has given its clear support to the Bill. I hope that this House will now feel in a position to do the same. The noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, has tabled amendments to Commons Amendment No. 8A in lieu to propose that the probation trust or local lead provider should engage with the local strategic partnership to agree and implement local area agreements. The amendments also propose that the contract with the local lead provider should reinforce these obligations. That is very much what we expect to happen in practice. My right honourable friend the Minister of State, David Hanson, made it clear in the other place last week that commissioning will be a national, regional and local activity and that the local probation trust will be the lead provider provided that it meets the necessary performance standard. My right honourable friend also said that he would consider reinforcing that in the Bill. I believe that that is what the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, may have had in mind and why she has tabled her amendment today. I need to point out that the amendment is technically flawed as it employs terms that are not defined in statute, such as ““lead provider””, ““regional commissioner”” and ““local strategic partnership””. However, I also accept that that is not the main point that we need to focus on today. I understand why the noble Baroness wants to draw attention to what my right honourable friend said in the other place. I respectfully suggest to the House that what he said is a matter of real importance. My ability to confirm that statement to your Lordships’ House is also, if I may say so, of significance. My right honourable friend has given consideration to the matter but continues to believe that it is not necessary or appropriate to make those commitments in the Bill. He has made the position very clear on the floor of the House, as has my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor, in correspondence which I hope that a number of your Lordships will have read. That states very clearly how we propose to continue with the matter. All our plans for implementation are based around that concept. The letter makes it absolutely clear how the Government intend to proceed. I know that it was that assurance that the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, was most keen to secure and I am very happy to have been able to repeat the statements made by my right honourable friend in the other place, so that this House has the same assurance on those matters as Members of the other place. I hope that the House will accept those assurances and that the noble Baroness Lady Anelay, will not press her amendments, having achieved with such elegance and success all that she could possibly want. Moved, that the House do not insist on its Amendments Nos. 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13 and do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 8A in lieu.—(Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)