Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I support the very important amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, which fleshes out something that was already there in an entirely helpful way. I base that on my experience visiting young offenders. One was horrified at how many of them had alcohol problems recorded as being part of the problem and yet alcohol treatment was not part of the treatment that they were getting. It has always struck me as unfortunate that there seems to be a difference in the content between what is done during community sentences and what is done in custody. There are many things that could be the same. There is no reason why education, work training or drug treatment should not be part of a community sentence. There is certainly no reason why alcohol treatment should not be part of such a sentence. Therefore, I hope that the provisions that are so ably set out by the noble Lord are included in requirements both in custody and in this part of the Bill, which relates to what should be done in community for them, because it is a scourge that badly needs more attention.