Offender Management Bill

I warmly support the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne. Whether or not the amendment becomes part of the Bill, it was right for him to draw our attention to this crucial issue. It is tremendously important for my noble friend to provide reassurances not just on how this matter will be kept under review, but on how we always endeavour to improve performance. I hope that the House will forgive me for repeating an anecdote that I have previously recounted in this Chamber. When I visited Holloway Prison with the Joint Committee on Human Rights, I was astounded when very concerned prison officers told me that sometimes, when they had stayed beyond their normal hours to receive prisoners, they discovered that some of the prisoners had left unattended children at home. It is scandalous that that could ever happen in a civilised society. It may be an extreme example, but it illustrates the need for constant vigilance. The issue raised by the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, is very important. We should not just state that it is the responsibility of those managing offenders to promote the welfare of children. All relevant parts of public and social services concerned with children—not least education—should have very high in their priorities a focus on prisoners’ children and their needs. Co-operation is needed. During recent deliberations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights on asylum, I was far from alone in the committee in recognising that our system lacked an identifiable champion of the child. Parents in prison are never going to have the same status in the care of and arrangements for their children as parents outside. That will not happen. In that context we need to be certain that people with specific responsibility pursue what parents would normally vigorously pursue on behalf of their children. This is another example of the sensitivity, compassion and imagination of the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, and I am sure that I speak for many other noble Lords. His comments need to be taken extremely seriously.