Conclusions and recommendations
Governance arrangements and the Advisory Board on
Female Offenders
1. We
welcome the cross-Government focus on reducing women's offending
which has been achieved in the form of the Advisory Board, but
we note with concern that the high turnover of Ministers and,
therefore, Advisory Board Chairs, during the Board's short existence
appears to have impeded progress against the priorities set out
in March 2013. There is a clearer direction of policy on women
offenders, but we consider it too early to assess whether the
Advisory Board constitutes the most effective mechanism to steer
high-level cross-Government strategy. We welcome the Minister's
determination to reduce the women's prison population, because
strong direction from the centre is needed to achieve this. We
hope to see a fall by the time of the Ministry's next annual review
of its strategic objectives. However we note that any such fall
would be against the apparent tide of a rising general prison
population. (Paragraph 12)
Gaps in provision for women offenders
2. In
our Report Crime reduction policies: a co-ordinated approach?,
we concluded that slow progress was being made in developing liaison
and diversion schemes and that much more could be done. We argued
that the Government had tended to focus on crisis management,
where there might be more immediate financial gains to be had,
and, as a result, only a small proportion of funding was being
assigned to early intervention programmes which have could potentially
lead to longer term benefits. We believe the wider availability
of these schemes will be crucial for strengthening community-based
provision for women in order to reduce the female prison population.
(Paragraph 15)
Funding for women's community services and commissioning
arrangements
3. We
are concerned that funding appears to be a recurring problem for
women's centres and that future funding arrangements have not
been put on a sound basis as we recommended. (Paragraph 18)
4. Women's centres
should not be solely for women already in the criminal justice
system, but also for those on the periphery of it and at risk
of entering it, and we reiterate our recommendation that sustainable
funding of specialist women's services should be a priority.
(Paragraph 18)
The implications for women offenders of Transforming
Rehabilitation
5. It
is still very early to assess whether the requirement to take
account of women's needs placed on probation providers by the
Transforming Rehabilitation programme is sufficient to safeguard
the long term funding of women's centres. (Paragraph 22)
Small custodial units and the female custodial estate
6. We
remain of the view that an estate consisting principally of small
custodial units is best suited to women in custody. This should
be the long term aim of the Government, when it has been successful
in reducing the size of the women's prison population.
(Paragraph 23)
Release on Temporary Licence
7. We
welcome the Government's assurances that the Minister is taking
steps to minimise the potential impact on women of recent restrictions
on ROTL. We anticipate that our successor Committee will have
to monitor this carefully in the future. (Paragraph 31)
Conclusion
8. Overall,
we believe that positive steps are being made in meeting the needs
of women offenders, and we welcome the Minister's personal determination
to reduce the women's prison population and improve and increase
the programmes of support available to female offenders to help
them take responsibility and improve their lives. The greater
energy with which the Government has begun to address the issue
of women offenders needs to be sustained and continued by the
next Government: this applies to matters such as reliable funding
of women's centres, the effectiveness of rehabilitative provision
for women by Community Rehabilitation Companies, and the potential
of smaller custodial units. We want to see more effective provision
for women offenders, making it possible for there to be a substantial
fall in the women's prison population in the coming months and
years. We recommend that our successor Committee in the next
Parliament continue to monitor this subject closely. (Paragraph
32)
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