Offender Management Bill

As we are in Committee perhaps I may respond to that now, rather than taxing the Minister with having to deal with that as well. Amendment No. 34, as I explained earlier, closely shadows the government clause. I did so purposely because, in this case, it is right to have ““may””. A person who is to commission services, whether it is the Secretary of State or a probation trust, must not be in the position of always having to commission a service; otherwise they would still have to commission it even if there were no need. In this case, I was therefore content to follow the government line of saying that a probation trust ““may”” commission. It gives it the power of judgment in when services are needed and when they are not. It also means that there is a backstop for the Secretary of State where the probation trust has decided that it may not exercise its power because no service is required but the Secretary of State perceives that a service is required, so that he may then step in. I do not want to force probation trusts always to commission services if they are not absolutely required. I hope that that rather convoluted argument explains it.