Clause 30
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
Public Bill Committees, 20 November 2007, 7:30 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Somerton & Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I understand why the Government do not want competing jurisdictions between commissioners and ombudsmen, but would not it be better, in terms of organisation and ease of access, for the commissioner to refer cases on matters not within his remit to the health service ombudsman, rather than expect the prisoner to apply to someone completely different? A one-stop-shop approach would be just as appropriate to the prison system as to the general public.