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Offender Management Bill

I support what my noble friend has said. We are talking about a change of ethos to that of a business contract. We have to be satisfied that, in negotiating contracts, the weaker participant is not exploited, as has happened. I know of charities that have undoubtedly been exploited by local authorities and others, sometimes by a local authority going back on its word, and sometimes by its not paying up on time. Very often it is by the local authority treating the charity or other organisation as a waste-paper basket; when it has too many clients it passes them on, but when it does not have enough it keeps them all for itself. Those sorts of thing have to be covered, and I should be much happier if the noble Baroness could assure me that there would be some legal help for small charities and organisations negotiating contracts.