My Lords, as always, I have listened with great interest. I am for ever learning when I hear such wisdom from across the House, although, when listening to the debate on rehabilitation and good behaviour, I was reminded of my childhood. I perhaps disagree with one noble and learned Lord who suggested that we are all innocent. We were all guilty in front of mother, and “rehabilitation” was not a word that she used when putting us right.
Nevertheless, I join the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, in commending and acknowledging the terrific work of the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, in this area. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, for raising this issue, and acknowledge the incredible work of the work of the Prison Reform Trust. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, said that perhaps his worth in the Prison Reform Trust was not quite recognised because he was merely the chairman. However, his worth is well recognised in your Lordships’ House, as it is in this debate.
All noble Lords who contributed referred to the importance of communication. I firmly believe that that is important in ensuring that the people we are seeking to assist understand what is being resolved for them in their lives and what is ultimately the goal—that they become productive citizens for the benefit of them, their families and society as a whole. The noble Lord, Lord Bradley, asked whether I would acknowledge the importance of the requirements of those who have learning difficulties or problems in understanding. I do so from the outset—absolutely.
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Noble Lords have already referred to this, and will recall the helpful and informed debates on the subject during the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The Government listened to those debates and, as a result, amended the duty on courts to explain sentences, in order to allow criminal procedure rules to give sentencers guidance on how to do this. Again, there has been some debate over the word “rehabilitation”. Perhaps a thesaurus or
dictionary could have been reached for, but I think it is the right word. It is about the rehabilitation of the individual to allow them to become productive citizens in society as a whole.
As noble Lords mentioned, it is equally important that supervisors as well as sentencers are able to explain to offenders what is required of them, in a way that they can understand, otherwise we will simply set offenders up to fail. It may be helpful here to set out how this process already works for offenders who are released from custody on licence. Instructions for prison and probation staff are clear that they must ensure offenders understand the meaning and effect of licence conditions. If I may I will quote the relevant paragraph, which is in the Probation Instruction 20/2012 and Prison Service Instruction 40/2012:
“When explaining licence conditions to offenders prior to release, staff must ensure that the offender understands any such conditions. This is particularly important with additional and bespoke conditions as they may contain complex or detailed requirements. In addition, staff must take into account any issues such as English as a second language”,
which thus far has not come up in the debate, but is an important issue,
“or learning disabilities that may prevent the offender from understanding completely what is required of them”.
These instructions apply to both prison governors and probation staff, whether employed by the probation service or other providers. This is because for some offenders a single explanation may not be sufficient, as the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, reminded us. For some, it may be important that supervisors also understand the meaning and use their meetings with the offender to continue to remind them of their licence conditions, as was pointed out by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe. For others, an explanation while preparing for release will also be vital.
To support staff in fulfilling this requirement, an easy-read version of licence conditions is available. An updated version is currently being finalised, which I will be happy to make available to noble Lords as soon as it is published. I understand that this is imminent, and I hope that it will become available during the passage of the Bill.
The importance of training has been raised by a number of noble Lords, and we agree with that. The offender supervisor training course covers licence conditions, and also emphasises the need for effective and clear communication.
We intend to build on these arrangements once top-up supervision is implemented. We will issue revised instructions covering both licence and supervision requirements, which will be mandated for use by both the public sector probation service and private providers. Providers will be expected to comply with instructions as part of their contracts. I am happy to commit to issuing an easy-read version of the supervision conditions in the future, to complement what is already available for licence conditions. This is part of preparing materials and guidance for the rollout. I also point out that we have ensured that, as far as possible, supervision requirements replicate relevant licence conditions. This will help offenders to understand the transition from one to the other, rather than suddenly being subject to an entirely new and different set of conditions.
Under the new through-the-gate system, we envisage that providers will support offenders in custody before release. This will provide a number of opportunities to explain licence and supervision conditions. The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, raised this particular question. Let me assure your Lordships’ House that this will happen before release, through any provider working with the offender in custody; on release; through appointments with the supervisor after release; and again if an offender is warned for a technical or minor breach of licence or supervision. However, it is important that those who work with offenders can decide the best point at which to explain or re-explain licence and supervision conditions during that process.
The other point I would make here concerns the training of supervisors, an issue raised by several noble Lords. I agree that good training is vital in this process to ensure sensitivity when dealing with those under their supervision, as is understanding the individual. That is important when determining what skills an individual may have and what skills they need to develop.
The noble Lord, Lord Bradley, specifically raised the issue of the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee. We have now taken on the role of providing advice via the Criminal Rules. I know that the committee has already had a session with Mencap, an organisation that has been mentioned in our debate, and others. It has informed the committee’s review of the rules in terms of explaining sentences. Given the need for flexibility when supervision is explained to offenders, I am not sure that a broad statutory requirement on supervisors is the best way to ensure that this happens. That is not because I disagree with the intention behind the amendment. Indeed, I support the aim of ensuring that offenders understand fully what is required of them and the consequences if they do not comply. However, I believe that the existing system of instructions, guidance and training, which will be enhanced, provides a more tailored and flexible approach, giving discretion for when the explanation takes place, who makes it and how it is best delivered.
With the assurances I have given, including an assurance to make available the easy-read versions of the different sets of guidance we will be issuing, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, will feel able to withdraw his amendment.