Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Beith Excerpts

Tuesday 29th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Blunt]

That is not a result of our Government’s spending cuts. The efficiency savings for the probation trusts for next year are largely the plans that those trusts had for the transfer from board to trust status, which was inherited from the previous Administration. The National Offender Management Service is taking 37% out of its headquarters’ overhead precisely in order to protect the front-line professionals in the probation service in delivering effective offender management.

[Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD)]

Are probation trusts going to be providers of services, commissioners of services or both? If both, is there a conflict of interest?

[Mr Blunt]

I know that I am going to give evidence to the right hon. Gentleman’s Committee and we will look forward to examining those issues. I suspect that the answer in the end is very likely to be both.