May I begin by endorsing entirely what the hon. Member for Darlington (Jenny Chapman) and the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson) said about Paul Goggins. Paul was the first Minister I went to see as a newly elected Back Bencher. I was struck not only by his command of the brief, but by his inherent kindness, his reaction to somebody who was not of his party and his willingness to give me whatever assistance he could. That continued throughout the time that I knew him in this House. As others have said, he will be missed on a personal level by a great many people on both sides of the Chamber. It is right for us to recognise today that he will be missed in debates such as this. The lack of his warmth and wisdom on these subjects and many others will make our debates all the poorer. I know that we will all miss him in the Chamber more generally.
We have had an interesting and informed debate on this group of new clauses. There is no doubt that the substantial burden of the debate on the Bill has been not about the contents of the Bill, which are broadly uncontroversial, but about the wider reforms that surround the Bill. I understand why that is. It might therefore be
helpful if I spend a little time dealing with what is at the heart of the Government’s reforms to probation and why we believe they are so urgent. That will relate to the issue of piloting, which has been raised this afternoon.
3.30 pm
One reason for our belief that this is an urgent matter is that reoffending rates have barely changed over the last decade. That is not true only of offenders who are released from short sentences, whom we all agree get little or no support at the moment after release, but of every group of offenders. For adult offenders who serve community sentences, the reoffending rate in 2011 was 34%. After falling in the early 2000s, that trend has been broadly flat since 2005. For adult offenders who are released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months—the group that we are interested in—the reoffending rate in 2011 was 58%. That trend has been broadly flat since 2002. For adult offenders who are released from custodial sentences of 12 months or more, the reoffending rate in 2011 was 35%. That trend has been broadly flat since 2005.
I recognise that those rates have barely changed despite the considerable efforts and very good work of probation officers up and down the country. It has never been part of my argument that the changes are justified because no good work is being done. In my view, good work is being done. None the less, there is clear justification for a change in approach.