Women offenders: after the Corston Report - United Kingdom ...

Women offenders: after the Corston Report 13strategic commitment of the Government towards it since the change in Government in2010. 33 The Inter-Ministerial Group on Reducing Re-offending was disbanded postelection,as was its sub-group on women offenders, followed by the cross-departmentalwomen’s team which ceased to exist in March 2011 and was replaced by a criminal justicespecificWomen and Equalities Group based in NOMS. In addition, no specific, crossdepartmental,ministerial champion was appointed until September 2012, when HelenGrant MP was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Women andEqualities, with responsibility for women in the justice system, and to provide support onthe cross-government work of the Minister for Women and Equalities. 3424. The consensus of our witnesses was that despite initial “flurries of activity” progressappeared to have stalled under this Government. 35 The Chief Inspector of Prisons,Probation Trusts, voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations and HMInspectorate of Prisons alike observed that there was a lack of visible governance—described by Clive Martin of Clinks as a “yawning gap in leadership” 36 —coupled with alack of clarity about the strategic approach the Government intended to take. The view ofthe Elizabeth Fry charity was typical:“While the nature of the needs of women offenders has been recognised, there hasbeen a weakness in the organisational capability and capacity to commission serviceswhich meet them. We think the most effective means of commissioning services forwomen offenders requires more than the sincere intention, well-craftedspecifications of services, and rigorously monitored objectives: it requiresorganisational change.” 3725. The loss of governance arrangements had led to frustration and practical difficulties,for example, in identifying the correct contacts to correspond with. 38 Nick Hardwickdescribed the dismantling of the cross-departmental women’s team as a “significantproblem”. 39 The Prison Governors Association and HMP Eastwood Park noted a loss ofimpetus within NOMS for governors of the female estate, who used to have regularmeetings driven by an operational lead. 40 Bedfordshire Probation Trust said that seniorstaff relied on word of mouth from colleagues to communicate changes in structure,governance and points of contact for central discussion regarding women’s offending. 4126. For some, the absence of leadership was thought to reflect a lack of political will. 42 Forexample, Corston Independent Funders Coalition (CIFC) noted that it was:33 Q 8 [Ms Hogarth], Q 77 [Mr Kilgarriff, Ms Russell], Q 138 [Ms Crook, Ms Lyon, Mr Martin]34 She is also Minister for Victims and the Courts.35 Q 14 [Baroness Corston], Q 138, Q 152 [Mr Martin], Q 165 [Ms Halford], Q 195 [Ms Rijnenberg], Q 227 [Mr Hardwick],Ev 65, Ev w7, Ev 103, Ev w32, Ev 88, Ev w51, Ev w70, Ev 12036 Ev 8937 Ev w138 Ev w12, Ev w14, Ev w16, Ev w27, Ev 8939 Q 22740 Ibid.41 Ev w1642 Ev w51, Q 135 [Ms Russell], Q 138 [Ms Crook]