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Police and Justice Bill

I support the amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Henig. As she has so clearly outlined, the amendments all relate to including in the prescribed list of consultees the bodies being inspected. They cover consultations about additional functions to be conferred on the chief inspector, ministerial directions to the chief inspector to conduct particular inspections and the formulation by the chief inspector of inspecting programmes and frameworks respectively. The preambles to the subsections amended by Amendments Nos. 141 and 142 contain provisions that the Secretary of State needs to consult only those organisations that appear to be appropriate, but the last amendment, relating to consultation by the chief inspector on inspection programmes and frameworks, contains no such condition and would be mandatory. It seems to these Benches entirely reasonable that the organisations that are subject to inspection should have an opportunity to express a view on those key provisions.