Offender Management Bill

I should like to make it clear that we are not opposing the introduction of the clause. I want to concentrate more on the points made in another place, bearing in mind—this might come as no surprise to your Lordships—that only one hour was allocated there for discussion of this clause. My honourable friend the Member for Hornchurch, James Brokenshire, raised a number of issues that are still in need of attention. The Minister, Mr Sutcliffe, noted that failure to comply with a mandatory polygraph testing pilot could result in offenders being recalled to prison. Given that polygraph tests are to be part of a licensing condition, can the Minister assure noble Lords that there would be a guarantee of the proper punishment in the form of reincarnation—I am sorry, re-incarceration—of offenders who breach this condition? Further to this point, the Minister accepted that a failure to establish a proper address would critically undermine the condition that offenders on a polygraph condition must report regularly to a police station.Mr James Brokenshire welcomed the amendments allowing local government representatives access to offender data, but I was disappointed that the Minister did not address this issue head-on and did not go further to reassure colleagues in the other place that plans are in place to improve multi-agency public protection arrangements and rectify the disturbing failures in confirming and identifying the location of offenders. I hope the Minister will be able to provide some reassurance on these precise matters today.