Offender Management Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Offender Management Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008. The noble Lord said: This order makes amendments across the statute book that are consequential to Part 1 of the Offender Management Act 2007, which contains the new arrangements for the provision of probation services. The amendments made by the order are largely technical in nature—where there are references in legislation to the current probation structure of local probation boards, the order amends that legislation to include references to the new probation arrangements. By making these amendments we are ensuring that the duties and responsibilities required of a local probation board are applied equally to a probation trust and, where relevant, other providers of probation services. The amendments do not result in any policy change. Although a number of consequential amendments are made by Schedule 3 to the Offender Management Act 2007, it was made clear during the passage through Parliament of the then Offender Management Bill that those consequential amendments were illustrative of the Ministry of Justice’s approach and that the ministry would subsequently put before Parliament further consequential amendments using the power in Section 38. My noble and learned friend Lady Scotland said: "““As we have previously identified, a large number of consequential amendments need to be made to reflect the fact that probation boards will cease to exist in due course. Clause 35””—" now Section 38— "““enables consequential amendments to be made by order after the Bill is enacted, and this is the mechanism that we plan to use for most of them. However, we are making a small number in the Bill in areas that have raised particular interest and where we think it would be helpful to show the Committee how we are approaching these matters””." The provisions in Part 1 of the Offender Management Act 2007 make two distinct changes from the previous legislation on probation provision, the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. First, the Offender Management Act 2007 places the statutory duty for the provision of probation services on to the Secretary of State. Under the 2000 Act, this statutory duty had been placed on local probation boards. Secondly, the Offender Management Act 2007 allows for the establishment of probation trusts, as the public sector bodies to provide probation services, and to eventually replace local probation boards. The Secretary of State can either provide the probation provision that he is now responsible for himself, or he will be able to contract with others in the public, private or voluntary sector known as ““providers of probation services”” to deliver the probation provision. One key element of the probation provision is, however, retained by the public sector, and that is assistance to courts. This can only be more widely contracted, beyond the public sector, after agreement by both Houses of Parliament via an order. Further, there has been a commitment to retain the assistance to court work within the public sector for at least three years. The amendments made by this order ensure that the duties and responsibilities placed on local probation boards across the statute book will apply to providers of probation services with whom the Secretary of State has contracted under the new probation arrangements. During Committee stage, my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland further said: "““I appreciate that this has been a lengthy and detailed explanation of the amendment, but I hope that it has shown the Committee how we intend to ensure that the existing duties on local probation boards are carried forward fully to the new arrangements envisaged by the Bill. We remain wholly committed to maintaining probation commitments not just to ""children’s services but towards the full range of partnerships in which they currently participate””.—[Official Report, 12/6/07; cols. 1681-3.]" The amendments in the order can be divided into three broad categories. The first, and the largest, category relates to provisions on core probation activities and duties such as the supervision of offenders on licence or as part of a community order and the provision of information to victims of a crime. Section 199 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, for example, contains provisions on unpaid work requirements that are made as part of a community order or suspended sentence order. A court can impose such a requirement only if it is satisfied that the offender is a suitable person to perform the work. In taking this decision, the court may hear from an appropriate officer, who in the case of adult offenders is an officer of a local probation board. The order updates the definition of appropriate officer to include an officer of a provider of probation services. The second category relates to legislation that places requirements on local organisations, including local probation boards, to work collaboratively to achieve certain goals such as the reduction of crime and disorder in their local government area. Such requirements also need to be placed on providers of probation services under the new arrangements. The third category concerns statutory obligations placed on public authorities, including local probation boards. The order ensures that these requirements are placed on probation trusts as the public sector providers, and, where appropriate, on other probation providers in relation to their activities of a public nature under their contractual arrangements with the Secretary of State for probation provision. The Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Regulations 2005, for example, require listed public authorities to produce and update at regular intervals a discrimination equality scheme. We have included both probation trusts and providers of probation services where they carry out activities of a public nature in this list. I am sure noble Lords will have noted that the approach adopted with the consequential amendments in the order ensures that legislation referring to probation arrangements will refer to both the current arrangements of local probation boards and the new probation arrangements. This reflects the phased approach to establishing the new probation arrangements that I spoke of briefly earlier, and makes the legislation easier to understand. The order therefore seeks to include a reference to the new arrangements under the Offender Management Act 2007 alongside current arrangements, rather than simply replacing references to the previous legislation. Once all local probation boards have been abolished, we will repeal references to local probation boards, again using the power in Section 38 of the Offender Management Act 2008. The order also makes the necessary amendments to legislation to reflect the new name of the probation inspectorate under Section 12 of the Offender Management Act 2007. From 1 April, the probation inspectorate will be called Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation for England and Wales. The new name reflects the broader objective of the new probation arrangements of developing a range of providers of probation services that include private and third sector organisations. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Offender Management Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008. 10th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Lord Hunt of Kings Heath.)