Clause 1
Offender Management Bill
2:00 pm
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister (Home Affairs), Home Affairs; Harborough, Conservative)
I always like to start an afternoon sitting with a degree of happiness. May I welcome you to our deliberations, Mr. Bayley? I was coming to the end of an anecdote about public confidence and how it related to a particular case I sat on as a Crown court recorder. The point that I was making does not need to be repeated. In essence, I was struck by what the hon. Member for Stafford said. In a moment I will try to relate what he said to what the Minister said.
Before the Minister spoke, the hon. Member for Cheadle was good enough to support broadly the case that I was mounting in favour of our amendment. He and his colleague share our concerns and our desire to ensure that the Bill, if it is to work at all, works in a practical way. I therefore will not damage his arguments by attempting to paraphrase or repeat them. Suffice it to say that what he said can be read in the Official Report tomorrow. I am grateful to him and his hon. Friend for their presence and their support for the amendment.
The Minister referred to the National Offender Management Service strategy, which was not published but was circulated within the Home Office—