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

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Ev 76Justice Committee: Evidence1.2 Pseudo-StrategyIn January the Prisons Minister gave a speech outlining what he described as the MOJ’s strategy on womenin the criminal justice system. 6 This “strategy” was outlined again by Lord McNally in the House of Lords 7where Baroness Gould rejected it as a strategy:from what he said I failed to see a strategy that went across government, and a co-ordination of allthe things that he talked about. That will be essential if we are to solve this serious and urgentproblem. 8The subsequent commitment to produce strategic priorities suggests it was recognised that the previousoutline was not a sufficient strategy. While there has been some activity on most of the areas listed in manycases this is not gender specific—it is as if the lessons of Corston have not been learnt. Some of the activitieshave the potential to benefit women in the criminal justice system but will not do so unless they are deliveredin a gender-specific and cross departmental coordinated manner. Please see section 3: Integration acrossGovernment for evidence/subsequent progression on the initiatives and activities mentioned above.1.3 Impact of the lack of strategyThere has been no meaningful reduction of the number of women either currently in custody (still above4,000) or those received into and released from prison each year (over 12,000). Women are still receivingshort, ineffective custodial sentences for minor offences, and one of the most common reasons for womenbeing sent to prison is because of breach of a community order. A lack of strategy has meant that this specificand important driver for women’s imprisonment has not been addressed, and so the impact of imprisonmenton women’s (and their children’s) lives remains the same. Over 18,000 children are still separated from themothers every year.1.4 Transparency and AccountabilityA lack of strategy has been coupled with a lack of public reporting under this issue. Under the previousLabour Government reporting to parliament on progress against the Corston Report’s delivery commitmentshappened every 6 months. There was a clear and transparent monitoring of actions undertaken and theGovernment was held accountable for honouring its delivery commitments. Under the current coalition therehave been no parliamentary progress updates. It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to hold a clear andopen dialogue with the Government regarding progress against the Corston Report’s delivery commitmentsdespite Crispin Blunts personal assurances to Women in Prison that he, and the coalition, “broadly accept therecommendations in the Corston Report and are supportive of reducing the number of women in prison”2. Governance Structures2.1 Financial ResourcesWe believe that the Committee should consider levels of expenditure as a part of assessing commitment tochange for women in the criminal justice system. Less is being spent centrally on women in the criminal justicesystem than pre-Corston during the Women Offender Reduction Programme and the initial stages of theTogether Women Project. There was a period of relatively high central spending on this agenda during 2009–10and 2010–11 when the MOJ was investing in diversionary services for women. Women in Prison wanted topresent evidence of the budget of the Home Office and the MOJ (for the relevant periods) spent on women inthe criminal justice system over the last six years, however, such information was not available under theFreedom of Information Act 2000 as it would have exceeded the cost requirements. 92.2 Human ResourcesThe team within the MOJ responsible for taking forward work on women in the criminal justice system hasbeen significantly reduced in the last two years.— August 2008–09 members of staff in the MOJ working on women in the criminal justice system.— August 2010–13 members in total in the MOJ working on women in the criminal justice system;this figure included one intern and two vacant posts, which, if filled, would have resulted in atotal staff allocation of 15 personnel.— August 2012–13 members of staff in the MOJ working on women in the criminal justicesystem. 106Crispin Blunt, Speech to Corston Independent Funders Coalition (CIFC) (24 January 2012)http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/moj/departmental-board/crispin-blunt7Lords Hansard, HL Deb, 15 February 2012, c874, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201212/ldhansrd/text/120215–0002.htm#120215850002178Lords Hansard, HL Deb, 15 February 2012, c876, http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2012–02–15a.876.09Ministry of Justice, Freedom of Information Request Reference: FOI/77580 (20 August 2012)10 Ministry of Justice, Freedom of Information Request Reference: FOI/77580 (20 August 2012)
Justice Committee: Evidence Ev 77While the number of staff working on an issue does not generate progress alone, we believe this is indicativeof a reduced commitment to this issue and is certainly evidence of reduced capacity to deliver the Corstonagenda.2.3 A Women’s Justice BoardWe believe that the leadership needed could usefully come from a Women’s Justice Board. This governmenthas repeatedly rejected the idea of a Women’s Justice Board, the Prisons Minister said in January 2012:“We do not want to establish a women’s commission or board but would prefer to see the taxpayersinvestment pushed out to the frontline where it can make a more immediate impact on our prioritiesfor women”. 11We propose a Women’s Justice Board that looks at and leads on gender justice across government not justin the criminal justice system, scrutinising the work of all departments. Women do not offend in isolation fromsociety’s failings and solutions cannot come from the MOJ alone. Leadership outside of the criminal justicesystem would recognise the wider societal issues that affect women’s different routes both in and out ofoffending. This would be in line with the recommendation made by Baroness Corston that the responsibilityfor this agenda should move from the Home Office to the Department for Communities and Local Government.3. Integration Across GovernmentAs referenced in section 1.4, the Prison Ministers strategic priorities outlined in January commit tointegration across government departments. We wanted to present evidence on the progress of initiatives andactivities outlined. This information was sought from the MOJ; however, it was not available under the Freedomof Information Act 2000 as it exceeded the cost requirements. This lack of available information from the MOJand the continuous referral to other departments including Department of Health, Department of Work andPensions and Department of Communities and Local Government’s Troubled Families Team, we believeprovides concrete evidence that there is no integration regarding these initiatives and that departments areworking in silo.3.1 Mental HealthThe Prisons Minister stated that Mental Health Liaison and Diversion schemes would be running in allcourts and custody suites by 2014, including four women-only sites amongst the pilot sites. The potential forthis initiative to have a positive impact for women is dependent on gender specific delivery and sufficientlevels of gender-specific provision in the community for women who are diverted from custody. Furthermorewe are concerned about the availability of the £50 million committed by the Department of Health for thesediversion schemes.Information was requested from the MOJ under FOI.1. How many women-specific mental health and liaison schemes are currently running?2. What percentage of courts and custody suites will have women-specific mental health liaisonand diversion schemes by 2014?FOI unavailable due to cost, referral to The Department of Health.3.2 Drug Recovery Wings in PrisonThe Prisons Minister committed to drug recovery wings in three women’s prisons (HMP New Hall, HMPAskham Grange and a third to be confirmed). The success of such an initiative will depend on tailoringthe interventions delivered in the drug recovery wings to meet the specific needs of women with substancemisuse issues.We have not found any evidence that services in the drug recovery wings in women’s prisons are tailoredto women.Information requested from the MOJ under FOI.— What steps have been taken to ensure that the services in drug recovery wings in women’sprisons are tailored to women?FOI unavailable due to cost, referral to the Department of Health.3.3 Violence Against WomenThe Minister outlined a number of activities in this area including Women’s Aid pilot in prison “the powerto change” and the NOM’s Women Awareness staff training to be delivered to all staff working within women’sprisons. We welcome these activities, as offering a consistent framework of good practice for all staff workingwithin female prisons.11 Crispin Blunt, Speech to Corston Independent Funders Coalition (CIFC) (24 January 2012) http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/moj/departmental-board/crispin-blunt
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