Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

There is always a ““but””. But since it is very rare for the noble Earl to commend the Government, I will take that as a half-commendation at least. Something will come of it. I reiterate that we believe it should be put on a statutory basis. We want to get it right and we are determined to do so. On Northern Ireland, I cannot give the noble Lord a definitive answer. We are considering how best to take this forward in the context of devolution. Our thinking currently is to continue work on it which, if appropriate, could then be transferred to the devolved department of justice. That seems the best way of doing it, in addition to consulting the relevant interests in Northern Ireland. It is a matter that my officials have considered. They are pondering how best to take it forward to most effect. The Northern Ireland ombudsman’s comments were one of the influences in making the decision and played an important role in our asking the House to withdraw the relevant clauses. As for the proposed title, I know that the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, has never liked it, and we will take note of that. ““Commissioner”” is a very honourable title. Although we all talk about the Parliamentary Ombudsman, in statute the title of that post holder is ““commissioner””. The same applies to the Health Service Commissioner and a number of other ombudsmen. Although I understand what the noble Lord says about management of offending, that is perhaps—to take us back to the Oral Question earlier today—part of the integrated approach that we wish to see. However, regardless of whether it is in statute or is only generally recognised, we want a title in which people will have confidence. I will take that point away too. I think that I have answered most of the points.