Law Weblog

Effect of the Lords in Parliament

Thursday 19 October 2006 at 11:40 pm | In News | Post Comment

The effectiveness of the House of Lords as a reviewing and amending chamber was vividly illustrated by the government U turn over the independent prisons inspectorate.

Plans to create a “super-inspectorate” by merging the five watchdogs involved in the criminal justice system, have been abandoned following a vote in the Lords vote to retain the independent chief inspector of prisons by a majority of 113 made up of a cross-party alliance, led by former chief prisons inspector Lord Ramsbotham.

The Home Secretary and other government ministers said they had listened to the Lords’ concerns. Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust said “Rather than ploughing on with something that was ill-conceived and fundamentally flawed, it is good to know that government is prepared to listen.”