COMMUNITY SERVICE: CONSULTATION WITH COURTS AND THE PROBATION SERVICE

That this House supports the concept of community service as an important tool in the administration of justice and a means of giving offenders the opportunity to make reparation for their offences by working unpaid for the community; is therefore very concerned by the Government's decision, taken without consultation, to place the future management and administration of such activities out for open competition between the Probation Service and the private sector; understands that the Ministry of Justice has refused to allow local probation trusts a commissioning role, and has thus far not carried out any equality impact assessments on such proposals for competiton, nor confirmed whether the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on staff transfers in the public sector and the associated fair deal on staff provisions applies to the competition process; and calls on the Government to quarantine immediately such arrangements and, before embarking on any further initiative in this direction, to consult openly with the Courts Service and Probation Service on the best ways forward.