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

48 Women offenders: after the Corston Report4 The implications for women offenders ofthe Transforming Rehabilitation proposals121. On 9 January 2013 the Government published its “Transforming Rehabilitation”consultation paper setting out plans for an overhaul of the system for the rehabilitation ofadult offenders managed in the community, including support and services provided toprisoners in preparation for their release. It includes those sentenced to community ordersor suspended sentence orders, and those released from prison. The main thrust of theproposals is to extend payment by results to independent providers of rehabilitativeservices in the community. The consultation document contains a solitary paragraphwhich refers specifically to female offenders:We want these reforms to be effective for all offenders. We will ensure that thespecific needs and priorities relevant to female offenders are recognised andaddressed within our overall payment by results approach. Probation Trusts arerequired by the NOMS Commissioning Intentions document to demonstrate howthey will ensure appropriate provision of women’s services. They already work withother providers, such as the VCS-led Women’s Community Services, to address therehabilitative needs of female offenders serving community orders. For all femaleoffenders other than those who pose a high risk of serious harm, the responsibility todeliver rehabilitation services will be transferred to the new market providers andwill be included in the overall payment by results approach. 237122. In their statement of strategic objectives for female offenders the MoJ acknowledgedthat the relatively small number of women offenders “present particular challenges” withinthe Transforming Rehabilitation proposals. On the other hand, Ian Porée of the Ministryof Justice told us that they potentially offer “significant new improvements in how we workwith women offenders [...] in that area of managing the transition from within custodyback into the community and having a proper through-the-gate or managed model, where,essentially, you have understood the needs of the woman, prepared the release process andthen supported the woman, on release, back in the community.” 238 We discussed theproposals with several of our witnesses who identified both opportunities and challengesfor future provision for female offenders and for the ongoing implementation of BaronessCorston’s recommendations. After we concluded our inquiry the Government committedto implement its proposals and set out an ambitious timetable for doing so. 239Potential opportunities123. Our witnesses’ responses to the proposals were generally supportive of the focus onrehabilitation and proposals to extend through-the-gate support, including mentors, toshort-sentence prisoners, something that women would particularly benefit from as theytend to serve shorter sentences. 240 Our evidence also suggests that an overhaul of237 Ministry of Justice, Transforming Rehabilitation, January 2013, p 17238 Q 297239 Ministry of Justice, Transforming Rehabilitation: A strategy for reform, May 2013, Cm 8619240 Q 83 [Mr Kilgarriff], Q 84 [Ms Spurling]