Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Paragraph: 61
Set out MoJ's work with judiciary to inform sentencing and improve community sentence confidence.
Recommendation
The Ministry of Justice should set out what work it is doing with the judiciary to ensure that they have all the relevant and necessary information to inform sentencing decisions. The MoJ should also set out what work is being done to ensure that community sentences offer a credible alternative to custody. Furthermore, we recommend that the MoJ seek the views of the judiciary on ways to improve community alternatives and increase confidence.
Government Response Summary
The government committed over £10m to a Residential Women’s Centre in Wales over the next 3 years and is developing its operating model and planning a feasibility study to evaluate it, despite a planning rejection.
Paragraph Reference:
61
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We accept this recommendation. In May 2022 we announced that we will invest over £10m in the residential women’s centre (RWC) in Wales over the next 3 years. We are currently revising our timeline for implementation following the recent decision by the local planning committee to reject our application to develop the site. We anticipate the RWC will support up to 48 women every year and it will be run by the probation service which will procure specific interventions from women’s services providers. We are currently developing our operating model for the centre. Once that work is complete, we will develop operational instructions and guidance for staff, providers, courts, and the judiciary as appropriate. We are about to run a feasibility study to assess best options for evaluating the RWC in Wales.