This morning on Radio 4 Today, Nick Hardwick the Chairman of the Parole board was explaining how indefinite, Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences need to be reformed in his view. It appears from the statements emerging from the Ministry of Justice, that Nick’s concerns have been taken on board. This is good news for some of the 133 prisoners held on IPP. However the interview revealed something else that seemed to me to be a surprising omission. Nick mentioned that he has not yet met Liz Truss who is the new Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor. I have all sorts of reservations about the way in which Cabinet Politics brings ignorance and naivety into positions of power, sometimes with no time to prepare. However Liz Truss was appointed to this important role within our Government on 14th July. That means that on Thursday she will have been in post for 2 weeks, and her lack of knowledge of the role has been one of the most consistent reactions, from within the Party and more widely. It takes time to arrange meetings, but Secretary’s of State have a substantial workforce to help ensure that they can get the right people in front of them at very short notice. I got the impression that Nick Hardwick mentioned that he has yet to meet the SOS on national radio for a good reason. He cannot demand meetings with a Minister of the Crown, any more than you or I can. If Liz Truss is to make a success of her role, she needs to pay attention to people like Professor Hardwick. It may have been pure good fortune, but Amber Rudd as the new Home Secretary lost no time in meeting with senior Police Officers when she was appointed at the same time as Liz Truss was appointed. We need proactive Ministers in these key roles.