Offender Management Bill

It is always important to ensure that those who carry out custodial duties are the appropriate people to do so. There are many different ways of ensuring a person’s appropriate standing. The Committee may recall that last year my noble friend Lady Buscombe introduced a similar amendment to this one in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill. That would have included young offender institutions. My noble friend reminded me that it took some persuading from the DfES to ensure that the Home Office changed its view on these matters. It will be interesting to hear the Minister’s response in the context of this Bill. I am aware that this is rightly a probing amendment because it can refer only to contracted-out prisons. It would be useful to hear from the Minister what the position is with regard to vetting those in all prisons who care for and manage offenders. I apologise to the Committee for arriving in the Chamber a few minutes late. I am very grateful to my noble friend Lord Bridgeman for covering the first amendment. I hasten to add that he had advance notice; I did not dump it on him. Today I had the privilege to visit the Nehemiah Project in south London, which cares for serious and serial offenders who are seeking to change their lives. It was very affecting to see what long-term hard work carried out on behalf of offenders, ex-offenders and others in its care can do. It certainly formed a strong background for my future consideration on the Bill, but as I drove past Brixton Prison on the way back it made me think closely about the noble Baroness’s amendment.