Offender Management Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 35A to Lords Amendment No. 35. In the Bill as originally published, no parliamentary procedure applied to the power in Clause 5(1) to establish, alter the name or purpose of, or dissolve a probation trust. The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee noted that precedents existed for that, but it felt that it lacked sufficient information about how trusts were to be established in order to make a recommendation about its appropriateness in this context. The committee therefore drew the matter to the attention of the House. The Government have now been able to provide much more information about the process for establishing trusts, and that was acknowledged by those who contributed in Committee. Nevertheless, the House supported the amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, to apply the affirmative procedure to this power. In the light of the debates that we have had on this subject, we accept that this important power should be subject to parliamentary procedure, but we continue to believe that the affirmative procedure is excessive. There are currently 42 probation boards. Over the next three years they will cease to exist, and in their place probation trusts will be established. The transition is being conducted openly and in close consultation with the service. We suggest that in most, if not all, cases the establishment of the trusts will be an entirely routine matter as will most future changes. Given the pressures on parliamentary time, it would be quite disproportionate to require debates in each House on these matters as we come to decide on change for each probation board to probation trust status. I submit, therefore, that the negative procedure is much more appropriate. It allows routine business to be conducted in a routine way but, if particular issues of concern arise, it enables either or both Houses to debate them openly if they so wish. It gives us an element of scrutiny that we could use if we thought it was merited. I respectfully suggest that this is a sensible compromise, and I commend it to the House. Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 35A to Lords Amendment No. 35.—(Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)