Offender Management Bill

moved Amendment No. 15: 15: After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— ““Duty to co-operate The Secretary of State, local probation boards, the Prison Service and such other persons or organisations as the Secretary of State may by order designate shall co-operate with one another in carrying out their respective functions, in so far as those functions relate to the purposes identified in section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (c. 43) (““the 2000 Act””).”” The noble Baroness said: The amendment would for the first time make clear how the much quoted and welcome notion of ““end-to-end management of offenders””, as the noble Lord, Lord Carter, expressed it, can be made a truly effective reality by placing a duty on all the relevant agencies in the criminal justice system in England and Wales to co-operate with one another. This would include the Prison Service, whose role in the process has been mysteriously left out of the Bill. As has been said in our discussions on the consistent management of offenders from beginning to end, the process must include the Prison Service, particularly when it dominates the lives of so many offenders and impacts so regularly on the Probation Service. That is not to mention its ever increasing overcrowding, its costs and the high reoffending rates. Moreover, given the general, official perception of a need to be tougher and more punitive, the development of community-based alternatives has simply not had the necessary profile or investment to enable them to do what they could and should be doing. I know that the Government’s payback schemes are in operation, but their impact has been limited and they have not yet had the desired effect. As a result, they do not have the confidence or understanding of the sentencers or the public. This is in spite of the oft repeated mantra that custody must be used only as a last resort for the most dangerous, violent and prolific offenders, the reality of the disproportionate numbers of offenders serving short-term sentences filling the prisons, and the inevitable failure, in the midst of untenable overcrowding, to prevent more than two-thirds of the prison population from reoffending. Prisons, and their crucial relationship with probation services, cannot and must not be left out of this discussion. The amendment would put them under a duty to co-operate. This follows the Scottish model, which has now been in place for just over a year and was discussed briefly at Second Reading. The differences of context in England do not outweigh the similarities. The response to an early consultation process in Scotland revealed a strong resistance to a move towards a single agency, just as was the case in England and Wales when Restructuring Probation to Reduce Re-Offending was published—less than 1 per cent of responses were in favour of the centralising plan. Concerns similar to those in Scotland were expressed, in particular the wish to keep provision rooted in local areas where offending originates and where it must also be tackled if it is to work. The difference was that Scotland listened to the views of the practitioners and has created a system that is just that: rooted in localities. I shall briefly describe what is being done in Scotland. Eight community justice authorities have been created, which are a regional tier of statutory bodies. They consist of locally elected councillors, who ensure that criminal justice agencies are joined up and fulfil their duty to work with the Scottish Prison Service to reduce reoffending and to form effective local area partnerships to deliver integrated services for offenders both in prison and in the community. Statutory partner bodies are the police, health boards, the Scottish Court Service, significant voluntary organisations, local procurators fiscal and Victim Support Scotland. There is also a wider range of statutory partners. Additionally, there is a parallel plan for MAPPA, with a similar duty to co-operate between all the relevant agencies. Area plans are drawn up based on local need. At this early stage, the important lesson is that a more creative, responsive way of working is already developing between agencies and generating a lot of enthusiasm. The amendment represents a proposition akin to that of the noble Lord, Lord Carter, to break down the silos and the barriers that prevent constructive partnership from working. It would make end-to-end management far easier, and more shared information means better planning. It is important that we look at such developments and learn from others’ experience, especially when the goals are common and the way of working reflects what most of us believe is essential to good and effective working; namely, that it is rooted in localities and reflects the needs of all members of the community, including the offenders. Structures are already in existence in England and Wales that have similar potential and play an important part in choreographing local community justice. They include the crime and disorder partnerships and area criminal justice boards. Procedures are in place for local area agreements to bring the relevant agencies together in ways that suit their local circumstances. This is exactly what the LGA is calling for. Many of us fear that the Bill will create an overcentralised and overbureaucratic system under which providers will find it hard to create real partnerships in the interests of offenders and communities. Contestability in this atypical market could drive a wedge between providers, who should be working together in the interests of offenders and the community, rather than driving up standards as is the hope and belief. The duty to co-operate would bind agencies together in the interests of best practice in offender management and communities. Many agencies, including Napo and the LGA, already see great value in this way of working. I urge the Minister to give the issue serious thought and not to dismiss it quite as summarily as she did at Second Reading. It has a great deal to offer us. I beg to move.