Probation Services: Outsourcing

Lord Elystan-Morgan Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend raises a very important point. If we look at reoffending generally, 50% of offenders who serve a 12-month sentence still go on to reoffend. Currently, as I have already alluded to, the recall figure is in excess of 16,000, of whom 5,000 represent the 85,000 or so of the prison population, which is about 5%. No, it is not good enough, but we believe that the Transforming Rehabilitation programme that we have put forward, the consultation on which, as I said, closed on 22 February, will provide a practical way of addressing reoffending. It costs us, as an economy and as a society, very heavily.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

Does the Minister appreciate that the recall of a prisoner is a quasi-judicial act, at the moment vested by law in the probation service? Henceforth, when this scheme operates, who will be exercising that power of recall, by what authority will it be exercised and what training will be given to that person to discharge that not uncomplicated task?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First and foremost, public safety will not be compromised in any sense. What we are putting forward in no way jeopardises that. As far as recall is concerned, once we have completed this particular consultation exercise, we will look at the concerns which have been raised. I will write to the noble Lord, detailing some of the specific proposals on that point.