Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Deferred
Paragraph: 77
Publish evaluation of pre-sentence report pilot, detailing success measures, targets and ethnic minority outcomes.
Recommendation
Regarding the pre-sentence report pilot, the Ministry of Justice should set out how it will measure the success of this pilot, and the criteria it will use to determine whether to expand the initiative. The MoJ should also set out what its targets are for the number of women who will receive a fuller pre-sentence report under the pilot, and at the end of the pilot period, it should publish an evaluation of the pilot. The MoJ should include in its evaluation the outcomes for ethnic minorities, as well as the steps required to ensure that the specific needs of BAME women are met through pre-sentence reports.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government did not address the specific pre-sentence report pilot, its evaluation, or targets, instead stating that Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs) for substance misuse and secondary mental health are available in all court areas, with primary care coverage aimed for 100% by 2023/2024.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
77
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
We accept this recommendation. A process evaluation is underway, and a report will be published in 2023, which will include perceived impacts of the pilot on ways of working in the court. Female offenders were selected as one of the initial three priority cohorts for the pilot and ethnic minority service users have made up a proportion of the three target cohorts in the pre- sentence report (PSR) Pilot, but as of August 2022, ethnic minority service users will be explicitly included as a priority cohort in the pilot. The pilot will request more comprehensive, written PSRs rather than oral reports for these cohorts, including monitoring data relating to PSRs completed for women and ethnic minority individuals to understand better what changes may be required from both an operational and policy perspective. There is no specific target for the number of service users who will receive a written pre- sentence report under the pilot. This is informed by both the identification of cases that would benefit from a comprehensive written report and the Judiciary agreeing to that recommendation. The focus is on delivering improvement in the quality and timeliness of reports. Engagement with the judiciary through written reports and liaison meetings will include raising awareness of the specific issues faced by women who offend and provide an increased understanding of the possible implications and opportunities of sentencing.
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