Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 2
First Report - Women in Prison
Published 26 Jul 2022
Paragraph 28
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Women in Prison All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
One of the strategic objectives of the Female Offender Strategy is to see fewer women in custody. Whilst there has been a decline since February 2017 from 3,958 to 3,219 in July 2022, to a large extent this has been a result of lower crime and the reduction in court activity during the pandemic. Moreover, the MoJ itself now predicts an increase in the female population by more than a third over present levels in the next three years.
From: Justice Committee, First Report - Women in Prison (HC 265), paragraph 28, 26 July 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 October 2022 (deadline 26 September 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts most of the Committee's recommendations on women in prison, but states it does not accept three: mandatory full written pre-sentence reports, new data collection on custody as a place of safety, and a cross-department accommodation strategy.
- On pre-sentence reports, the government says it "does not accept" making full written reports mandatory for women facing custody, stating the court must already request one "unless it considers it to be unnecessary". A pilot evaluation is to be published in 2023.
- It does not accept the recommendation to collect data on custody as a place of safety, saying a cross-agency group found "no robust source of data" and the focus is on implementing reforms in the draft Mental Health Bill.
- It does not accept the call for a cross-department accommodation strategy "because this is already being delivered through other means", citing the Prisons Strategy White Paper and Beating Crime Plan.
- On new prison capacity, it states the new facilities "will aim to provide 456 additional places" across five women's prisons, with the first women expected in the new facilities "in early 2025".