Offender Management Bill

moved Amendment No. 29: 29: Clause 2, page 3, line 11, leave out subsection (6) The noble Baroness said: The amendments tabled in my name give effect to two commitments I made at Second Reading. The first is to include in the general duty to consult a specific requirement to consult Welsh Ministers on probation provisions in Wales. The second is to require providers to publish plans. For the avoidance of doubt and confusion, perhaps I may begin by explaining the technical nature of the three amendments before going on to discuss the substance. In the current version of the Bill, the duty on the Secretary of State to consulton the provision of probation services is set out in Clause 2(6). But it makes sense for the consultation duty to sit alongside the duty to publish plans, for which a new clause was needed. So AmendmentsNos. 29 and 33 are simply consequential amendments which remove the references to consultation from the existing Clause 2, so allowing them to be moved to the new clause. It is therefore Amendment No. 70 on which we need to focus. As to the substance, let me begin with the duty to consult. This is a new development; no such duty exists under the current arrangements. But we see consultation as a crucial part of the process of ensuring that offender and community needs are correctly identified and that the right services are commissioned to meet them. This is not a task for commissioners or probation acting in isolation; we need and we shall seek input from a wide range of stakeholders. The question of whether it was desirable to list those stakeholders on the face of the Bill was debated in the other place, where no consensus emerged. Some thought a list would be helpful to highlight the key interests, which seems to be the approach favoured by the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, but others feared that such a list might result, however unintentionally, in stakeholders not on the list being marginalised. Although there was general agreement that consultation should be wide, different Members highlighted different stakeholders as being important to the process. Clearly we want to consult the judiciary, trusts and other providers of probation services, and the local authority. We also expect providers of custodial services to be included, as well as other criminal justice agencies and bodies involved in the provision of services that contribute to the reduction of reoffending. I could go on and on—and, probably, on. That lack of consensus reflects our own experience in this House last week, when we debated the principles and purposes at some length. In the light of that, we concluded that a list of consultees would not be an especially helpful way to proceed, and that it would be preferable to retain the formulation, "““such persons as the Secretary of State thinks fit””." However, we take on board the point made in the other place by the honourable Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Mr Elfyn Llwyd, that the position of Wales warranted special consideration, especially in view of the close relationship between probation and other services that are devolved to the Welsh Assembly. I am therefore tabling an amendment that includes subsection (1), a specific requirement on the Secretary of State to include Welsh Ministers in his consultation about probation provision for the following year. I turn to the publication of plans, which is dealt with in the remainder of the proposed new clause. This was very much sought after, and we believe it is a helpful addition. If we are to consult our stakeholders on the probation provision required, we also need to communicate our plans for making that provision. We accept that fully, and that is why I am proposing to make statutory provision for it. Subsection (2) places a duty on the Secretary of State, before the end of each year, to publish an annual plan for the following year that sets out the way he—I should say ““she””—proposes to ensure the provision of probation services, including any arrangements that he may make himself under Clause 3(4). That plan will include, and be informed by, the results of the consultation. Subsection (3) requires the Secretary of State to have regard to the plan as he discharges his functions during the year. In practice, commissioning will be a national, regional and local activity, as I have already indicated. At the national level we will set the overall objectives and targets for the system. At the regional level, where interventions can be delivered more effectively across a region, commissioners will contract directly with providers. In most cases, however, commissioners will contract with lead providers for the delivery of services in a probation area, and that lead provider will then subcontract to other providers where they are better placed to deliver. The Secretary of State will discharge his duty under subsection (2) through the publication of national and regional plans. To reinforce the critical importance of the partnership approach as wholly central to the Bill, we anticipate that the national and regional plans will be entitled Commissioning and Partnership Plans—but that is not enough. We also need openness about commissioning at the local level. That is why subsection (4) requires the Secretary of State’s contract with a trust to include a requirement to publish its own plans for the following year. Subsection (5) makes clear that, where appropriate, the Secretary of State may place that requirement on a non-public sector provider as well. That will ensure a consistent and coherent approach. This is a comprehensive package that addresses the concerns that have been raised about local engagement and openness, and I hope the House will support the amendments. I beg to move.