Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am sure that we are very grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Longford, for initiating this debate. The House is indeed privileged to have the benefit of his experience of the Prison Service, which extends over many years. As I am sure your Lordships will be aware, we on these Benches aim to provide constructive opposition and there are a number of government initiatives which we do...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am sure we are all grateful to the noble Viscount, Lord Falkland, for initiating this debate. It is with considerable diffidence that I follow such a distinguished and expert group of speakers. In his Question, the noble Viscount referred to the threat of criminal activity in racing in this country. Indeed, that has formed the main theme of our debate. Let it be repeated again, as...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I should like to add my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady McFarlane, for initiating this debate and say what a particular pleasure it is to see the noble Lord, Lord Morris of Castle Morris, in his place again. There is an increasing difficulty in the matter of nurse training in the interface between the private and voluntary sector and the National Health Service. Of course, the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am well aware of my position in the speaking order and I shall endeavour to break into a trot! First, I thank my noble friend Lady Cumberlege for her excellent introduction to the debate. I want to say something about nurses which I am well aware could have been included in the excellent debate last week initiated by the noble Baroness, Lady McFarlane, but as nurses are the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I repeat the observations of my noble friend Lord Higgins. We on this side of the House broadly welcome the Bill. I associate the Front Bench with the tribute to Mr Andrew Likierman and his interesting acronym. I am also grateful to my noble friend Lord Freeman for reminding your Lordships that so much of the initial stages of this work was done by my right honourable friend Mr...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, does the Minister realise that the number of purposeful hours per prisoner fell from 26.4 hours per week in 1994-95 to 22.8 in 1998-99? Does he agree that a programme producing 1¼ million pairs of socks over the past three years, not for sale but for the use of a prison population of around 60,000, is neither productive nor, for the prisoners, a fulfilling use of their time?
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am sure that we are all very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, for initiating the debate. It is a tribute to the composition of this House that it can attract to this kind of debate a former special constable, a serving police officer and a former president of the Police Superintendents' Association. There is agreement from all sides of the House on the invaluable role...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Longford, has immense experience in this case, and, whatever one's views on the course to be followed, he has earned great respect on all sides and in all parts of the country for the dedication with which he has pursued this case. He is, of course, the only participant in this debate tonight who has experience of the subject. That having been said, our view...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl for that intervention, but perhaps I can just go on to this point. The difference between any debates that we have had on this subject and this one is that we have had a chance to have the debate since the Judicial Committee of your Lordships' House found that the imposition of a life tariff was entirely consistent with the law. If I may say to the...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, the constitution of this country leaves the law to the lawyers but the justice has to be interpreted on this occasion by the Home Secretary. In addition to the unanimous findings of that committee, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Steyne, who made the judgment which most of the other Lords of Appeal followed, referred to the submission by Hindley's counsel that the whole life tariff...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am grateful for the noble Earl's intervention again. Mine is a personal view, but it is also the view of my party. There have been two totally ad idem decisions by successive Home Secretaries, and I leave that matter there. One further point to which the noble Earl has not referred relates to the families of the murdered children. There are alive at least one parent of a child to...
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his intervention. The view of my party is that life does mean life. But, as has been said before, there are provisions for review. That is perhaps the justice that he would seek. So, life does mean life.
Viscount Bridgeman: moved Amendment No. 172: Page 139, line 19, leave out paragraph (e).
Viscount Bridgeman: Amendment No. 172 refers to page 6, paragraph 32, of the report of the Delegated Powers and Deregulation Committee, which draws attention to the fact that Schedule 14 permits information obtained by authorised officers to be passed on to listed person or, "to a person specified by order of the Secretary of State for use of a kind specified in the order". This is a probing amendment, but the...
Viscount Bridgeman: I thank the Minister for that comprehensive reply, which we shall study carefully. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Viscount Bridgeman: We are pleased that the Government accepted the requirement that a first-time order should be subject to affirmative resolution. We regard that opinion by the committee to be important and constructive and are pleased that the Government are accepting it.
Viscount Bridgeman: moved Amendment No. 189: Page 58, line 19, after ("opinion") insert ("and his reasons for holding that opinion").
Viscount Bridgeman: This subsection allows the Secretary of State to override Parliament in matters of urgency. The amendment seeks to require him to give the reasons for his opinion when making such an order. I beg to move.
Viscount Bridgeman: I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bach, for his response to Amendment No. 189 which I shall read with care in Hansard. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, my noble friend Lord Kingsland has also indicated his agreement to this amendment. I am happy to agree.
