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Offender Management Bill

moved Amendment No. 128: 128: After Clause 32, insert the following new Clause— ““Rehabilitation of offenders Rehabilitation of offenders The Secretary of State shall conduct a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c. 53) and publish a report on his findings.”” The noble Lord said: This is another amendment where I can almost predict what the reply will be but there is purpose to it because, the more one looks into the whole business of rehabilitation, the more one realises that the present Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is not fit for purpose, which is a considerable concern to all those involved in the resettlement process. A great deal of work has already been done within the Home Office on this subject. It is possible that if there had been a revision of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, a lot of the problems that we have been foreseeing would have disappeared. Recently the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, obtained a short debate on this subject so there is no need to go over the whole ground again. I have put it in the Bill because, as I have mentioned before, what is marked in the Bill about the management of offenders is really what is not in the Bill about the management of offenders. One of the things I shall be seeking in a further amendment is a revisiting of a lot of the issues which need to be in a proper regime for the management of offenders, including this. Therefore, by having it on the record as an amendment that we discuss in this House, I hope it will be drawn to the attention of those who will have to go through and see what needs to be put in to strengthen the Bill, particularly as we spent the first three days talking about the importance of rehabilitation, for which this Act is a very important tool. I beg to move.