8
Recommendation
Fifty-First Report - Improving outcomes…
Rejected
The first two objectives of the strategy (intervening earlier and a greater proportion of women managed in the community) each depend on improved community services for women.15 The Ministry told us the importance of work done in the community is “absolutely well understood”16 Despite this the Ministry has spent only …
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The first two objectives of the strategy (intervening earlier and a greater proportion of women managed in the community) each depend on improved community services for women.15 The Ministry told us the importance of work done in the community is “absolutely well understood”16 Despite this the Ministry has spent only £9.5 million on grants for community services over four years (2018–19 to 2021–22).17 The Ministry has not been able to make a full assessment of how much it needs to spend on community services because it has declined to set targets so has not set out the reduction in the proportion of women entering different stages of the CJS that it expects to see. It considers that it would be inappropriate to set out the extent of what it is aiming to achieve as this depends on other bodies that are independent of it such as the judiciary.18
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to estimate the reduction in women entering the CJS, stating that it is not possible due to the independence of the police, CPS, and judiciary; instead, they have estimated the number of women that could be supported through existing …
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HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
Fifty-First Report - Improving outcomes…
Rejected
The £9.5 million for grants for community services compares with £200 million the Ministry has committed to spend on an extra 500 prison places for women due to increases in police numbers.19 We asked stakeholders how far the £200 million would stretch if it were spent on community services and …
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The £9.5 million for grants for community services compares with £200 million the Ministry has committed to spend on an extra 500 prison places for women due to increases in police numbers.19 We asked stakeholders how far the £200 million would stretch if it were spent on community services and what the results would be. They told 8 Q 1 9 C&AG’s Report, para 20 10 Q 29 11 Q 79 12 Q 58 13 Q 80 14 Q 58 15 Female Offender Strategy, Ministry of Justice, 2018, paras 11 and 12 16 Q 44 17 Q 28; C&AG’s Report para 3.3 18 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.10, 2.11 19 Qq 32, 34–35 Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system 11 us it would be transformational. Women in Prison told us that Ministry funding could be used to stimulate funding from other public bodies and philanthropists, and that with that amount of funding there could potentially be a women’s centre in every local authority.20 It said it had not done the analysis for this but they hoped that the Government had. The Howard League for Penal Reform said the money could be spent on “…all kinds of different ways that would stop women offending in the first place and provide real solutions to solve their problems.” Anawim told us that the cost of a women’s centre supporting a women in the community is between £1,000 and £4,000 per woman. The average annual cost of a women’s prison place is £52,000.21
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating it is not possible to estimate a counterfactual and it would not be appropriate for the government to do so.
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HM Treasury
10
Recommendation
Fifty-First Report - Improving outcomes…
Rejected
We asked the Ministry if it had assessed the impact of spending the £200 million on prison places for women. It has not. It told us this was because it has a duty to provide places for those sent to prison by the courts and its projections are that increased …
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We asked the Ministry if it had assessed the impact of spending the £200 million on prison places for women. It has not. It told us this was because it has a duty to provide places for those sent to prison by the courts and its projections are that increased police numbers would result in an additional 500 prison places for women being required.22 The Ministry told us that implementing the Female Offender Strategy might bring that number down, and if so, it would not need all the additional prison places.23 However this modelling of expected need for 500 more prison places did not take into account any effect from the female offender programme such as more people being diverted away from prison sentences.24 The Ministry and HMPPS told us the newer prison places will be higher quality than some existing places and if they were not needed older places could be closed, but that was not an explicit objective.25 Working with others
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to estimate the level of funding required in the community and the proportion of women who could be supported in the community instead, stating that it is not possible due to the independence of the police, CPS, and judiciary; …
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HM Treasury