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Offender Management Bill

I think that Ministers’ ability to influence what happens at local level should be stronger than it has been. I know that that is controversial, but I am one of those who have always been convinced that some element of community sentences should be carried out in uniform, where that is appropriate. Many Ministers have held that view over the past few years, but any implementation of such a policy has always been blocked by the autonomy of probation services. We can debate whether it is desirable for probation services to be able to block policy development in that way. I believe that it is not.