My Lords, I congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, on tabling this amendment, for which I signify my support. However, I have to convey to the House an element of great frustration in that by the time the strategy which we have been promised is published three years will have been wasted. I have now wasted quite a lot of my patience listening to Ministers say they are following the Corston report. It is not true.
I entirely endorse what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, said about women at risk of offending. Giving money to a probation trust does not provide any services to women at risk. This is something that over time I have pointed out to Ministers and which I conveyed this morning to the Justice Committee of another place. Given the time of day and the pressure of business, I wish briefly to signify my agreement to the amendment tabled by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, and to urge the Government not to waste any more time.
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