CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: SUPPLEMENTARY (Hansard, 11 November 1997)

§ Mr. Raynsford
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
The amendment was drafted in response to an undertaking that I gave to the hon. Member for Christchurch in Committee. It requires a local authority that has issued a certificate, other than the receiver of the Metropolitan police district or a probation committee, to secure that a copy of the certificate should be freely available for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times, and to provide facilities to allow copies to be obtained for a reasonable fee. The authority remains under that duty for as long as a certified contract operates.

§ Mr. Chope
I am grateful to the Minister for his positive response on this open government amendment, which originated with the Opposition. Perhaps he could explain, however, why it does not extend to the receiver for the Metropolitan police district or to a probation committee.

§ Mr. Raynsford
I feared that the hon. Gentleman would pursue that point: it is a complicated one, and I ask him to bear with me while I explain the circumstances.
Unlike other local authorities, probation committees are accountable to the Home Secretary and not to the local taxpayer. They are under a statutory duty under section 4 of the Probation Service Act 1993 to ensure that probation services are provided efficiently, and the Home Secretary has statutory powers to intervene when a probation committee fails to discharge its duties responsibly.
The expenditure of probation committees is 80 per cent. funded by the Home Office. Only about 20 per cent. is funded by local authorities, and much of that is supported by revenue support grant from my Department. Only a small proportion is raised by local taxation and, accordingly, probation committees are primarily accountable to central Government.

§ Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
It occurs to me that that is just about the ratio of funding for local government at the moment: 80 per cent. from central Government, and 20 per cent. raised locally.

§ Mr. Raynsford
The hon. Gentleman is talking about something that is not relevant to the specific Lords amendment. If he consults the procedures of the House, he will realise that he is speaking wide of the mark. 813 Probation committees are not subject to the disclosure requirements of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985. The accountability of probation committees to the Home Secretary for the effectiveness and efficiency of the services they provide covers the lawfulness of the contracts that they enter into, and, through the Home Secretary, they are accountable to Parliament. The Home Secretary monitors the provision of probation services through Her Majesty's inspectorate of probation and the Audit Commission.
In view of those existing arrangements, it is not necessary to require probation committees, for reasons of public accountability, to allow inspection of certificates by members of the public.
On 16 July, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced the prisons/probation review, which, after public consultation, may have a major impact on the structure and organisation of the probation services and the legislation covering their functions. Similar arrangements apply to the inner London probation service, where the receiver for the Metropolitan police district acts for statutory purposes in place of the responsible authority—that is, one or more local authorities. The probation committee for the inner London probation service is also accountable to the Home Secretary.
The receiver for the Metropolitan police district is not subject to local government disclosure requirements. The receiver is for most purposes not a local authority. Through the Home Secretary, as police authority, he is accountable to Parliament. His general liability to account and be answerable with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is contained in the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 and the subsequent 1851 Act.