Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

I rise to speak in support of Amendment 172B, to speak to Amendment 174, and to speak to Amendments 173, 177, 181, 182, 183, 184 and 185 both on behalf and in support of my noble friend Lord Rix, who would have declared his interest as president of the Royal Mencap Society had he been able to be in the House. I speak first to Amendment 172B. I must declare an interest as chairman of the All-Party Group on Speech and Language Difficulties. As the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, has already pointed out, more than half the children who offend have some form of learning difficulty. The inability to communicate is the scourge of the 21st century, about which I have spoken many times in this House, most recently in the context of the Health and Social Care Bill. Regrettably, except in Northern Ireland, there is currently no routine screening to identify children with communication difficulties or learning disabilities. Until and unless there is, and early remedial action is taken, these children will be unable to understand or participate in the judicial process without effective support, which in turn must be related to their abilities or lack of them. This is yet another example of a need, identified in this Bill, being inhibited by lack of provision in another Bill. I hope that the Minister will speak to the Department of Health before Report so that we can consider how best to proceed with this amendment. Amendments 173, 177 and 181 to 185, to which I speak on behalf of my noble friend, who much regrets that he cannot be present, are all based on the principle of safeguarding vulnerable people in the criminal justice system. They also reflect demands that the system should be sufficiently flexible to achieve the delicate balancing act of protecting offenders with additional needs while prosecuting them. Of course, perpetrators must face the consequences of their actions, but they should not be denied the support that they may require in order to understand and participate in the judicial process. A wide spectrum of individuals is affected by these amendments: those with speech or language difficulties; those for whom English is not their first language; and those with a learning disability. According to the Prison Reform Trust report published in 2007, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, referred, between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of offenders have learning difficulties or disabilities that interfere with their ability to cope within the criminal justice system. On top of this, there is ample evidence of current deficiencies within the system over meeting these additional needs, which vary from poor flagging of individual needs to inappropriate diversion schemes and insufficient adjustments being made in the interests of fairness. That flies in the face of the principles of justice, from which they are at risk of being disproportionately disadvantaged by the system. Amendments 173, 177 and 183 to 185 are about the availability of accessible information at all stages of the judicial process. I appreciate that the Bill provides for the use of ordinary language when, for example, giving reasons and explaining outcomes. However, as my noble friends Lord Rix and Lord Wigley and I mentioned to the Minister when he kindly agreed to meet us, this does not go far enough. Ordinary language, however simplified, may not be sufficient to explain complex concepts or terminologies which could elude the comprehension of some individuals. For example, people with a learning disability may require easy-read formats, which include pictorial aids. What I am therefore seeking in the Bill is an acceptance that, to ensure that all aspects of the judicial process are fully understood by those with particular needs, different forms of communication above and beyond ordinary language must be employed, determined by what is most appropriate for the recipient. I have a very real concern over one particular proposal in the Bill; namely, that conditional cautions could be issued without the involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service. If authorised persons such as police officers are to be allowed to offer such cautions, it is of paramount importance that they do so in a way that ensures that individuals with additional needs are aware of the conditions attached. Without this safeguard, miscomprehension could result in someone being unaware of what they are admitting to or what conditions they risk breaking, resulting in their suffering greater sanctions as a result. What is more, options for disposal, such as offender management courses, must be available in appropriate forms before they are attached as conditions to avoid people being set up to breach. That is one reason why the amendment calls for the use of appropriate adults, who are an invaluable resource for all vulnerable groups because they provide impartial advice in what can be very stressful situations. In this connection, I hope that there will be greater obligation on authorities to make more use of them. Amendments 181 and 182 relate to employment provision in prisons. Here I must declare another interest as vice-president of the Centre for Mental Health which, for the past five years, has been studying the employment of those with mental health problems, including learning disabilities. I fully endorse the positive role that employment can play in prisons, particularly with regard to the teaching of employment skills which can be utilised outside custody. However, government figures suggest that fewer than 7 per cent of people with a learning disability known to social services are in any form of paid employment and, regrettably, the significant barriers to work that they face already, including employer prejudice, are likely to be increased as a result of the stigma attached to a conviction. Inevitably, people with learning difficulties have high support needs, and I echo Mencap’s concerns that without that support many of them will be unable to participate in the ethos of working prisons that the Government seek to implement. That could leave them isolated and unable to integrate into prison life on top of their vulnerability to targeted harassment and abuse. Furthermore, if financial penalties are now to be associated with a failure to carry out work-related activities, people with a learning disability stand to be disproportionately affected unless effective and adequate employment support mechanisms are put in place. This group of amendments is designed to provide vital safeguards for certain vulnerable groups as they make their way through the criminal justice system. Just because their needs present an additional challenge does not mean that they should be overlooked. On the contrary, ignoring them is likely to lead to future interventions being needed following more serious offences, which in turn will be more expensive to provide. I turn to Amendment 174, which is also linked to amendments that I have tabled later in the Bill. It is designed to emphasise the point that although imprisonment is a punishment awarded by the courts and prisons are places in which that punishment is served, if the public are to be protected by the prevention of reoffending, rehabilitation must be a key component of all prison sentences.