§ Lord Dubsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Who has been appointed as the next HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. [HL2070]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonRecruitment for the post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons has been run under Commissioner for Public Appointments guidelines following advertisements in the national press. The choice of candidates has been guided by an advisory panel including two independent assessors. As announced on 6 April, these were the noble Baroness, Lady Stern, former director of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders arid now Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Prison Studies, and the noble Lord. Lord Laming, former Chief Inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate and author of the report,
Modernising the Management of the Prison Service.
From the candidates selected by the advisory panel, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary has recommended that Her Majesty the Queen should appoint Ms Anne Owers CBE, the director of the non-governmental organisation JUSTICE, as the next Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. Her Majesty has consented to this appointment.
We are delighted that Ms Owers has accepted this appointment, which takes effect from 1 August this year. We are confident she will uphold the high standards of integrity, rigour and independence we expect from the inspection of this key public service.