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

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Women offenders: after the Corston Report 95Session 2013–14First Report Sexual Offences Guidelines: Consultation HC 93First Special ReportThe functions, powers and resources of theInformation Commissioner: Government Response tothe Committee’s Ninth Report of Session 2012–13HC 560
Justice Committee: Evidence Ev 1Oral evidenceTaken before the Justice Committeeon Tuesday 18 December 2012Members present:Sir Alan Beith (Chair)Steve BrineMr Robert BucklandRehman ChishtiJeremy Corbyn________________Mr Elfyn LlwydSeema MalhotraAndy McDonaldExamination of WitnessesWitnesses: Rt Hon Baroness Corston and Liz Hogarth OBE gave evidence.Chair: We are very glad to welcome Baroness Corstonto begin the work we are going to do on womenoffenders and to record the key role that you have had infocusing attention on this matter and bringing forwardproposals, in which I believe you have been assisted alot by Liz Hogarth, and we welcome her to our sessionas well. Are there any interests to be declared?Mr Llwyd: Yes, I would like to declare an interest.I am a member of the steering group of the all-partygroup on girls in the criminal justice system.Q1 Chair: Thank you very much. What do you see asthe main successes and the main disappointments, firstof all, that occurred during the previous Government’staking forward of your recommendations? How fardid they get? What was successful and what wasdisappointing?Baroness Corston: The first thing that was a successwas that they acknowledged the arguments I putforward about the need for the abolition of routine stripsearchingof women, which was hugely damaging,utterly pointless because nothing was ever found, awaste of staff time, damaging to staff and prisonerrelations, and, what is more, something that is a terriblething to do to women who are either mentally ill orwho have been victims of abuse—whether domesticviolence, sexual abuse or childhood sexual abuse.Such women are overrepresented in our prisons. Thatwas the first thing of which I was particularly proudand pleased.Given that we were entering a time of what we allrecognise to be great economic challenge, I thought thatthe previous Government had the foresight to dedicate£15.6 million to acknowledge a sea change in thinkingfor diverting women from custody by setting up andfunding women’s community projects, as they arecalled, women’s centres or one‐stop shops. I call themwomen’s centres, but, whatever you call them, theywere there to help women to turn their lives around;and they were open not just to women offenders whocould be diverted there by courts but also to women atrisk of offending, many of whom know they are at riskand will self‐refer.Another thing that made a huge difference in theprevious Government was the critical mass ofwomen Ministers, which I cannot overstress. Therewas Harriet Harman and Barbara Follett, who werepushing the equalities agenda. In the Home Office, wehad Baroness Scotland, Vera Baird, who is the PPSto the Home Secretary, and Fiona Mactaggart. Then,of course, when this agenda got under way, MariaEagle was given the job of Ministerial Champion.Having that critical mass of women who instinctivelyunderstood what this was about was absolutely crucial,in my opinion.The last thing that was very good was that we got civilservants working together. That might not seem verymuch, and what I am about to say might offend LordO’Donnell, but, when I worked at the Departmentfor Education and Employment with David Blunkettfrom 1997 to 2001, what I discovered was the wayin which civil servants are comfortable in their silos.I remember David Blunkett as Secretary of Statesaying to me that we had to set up the first ever childcare strategy and would I go along to the meetings. Icould not believe it; it took ages for people from allthese various Departments, who naturally had to worktogether, to put together a child care strategy. Therewere arguments for a few weeks about who was goingto take the minutes. The great thing about the CriminalJustice Women’s Policy Unit, which Liz Hogarth ranbecause Liz has given her life to women offenders, wasthat it was absolutely crucial in getting people fromdifferent Departments to work together.Q2 Chair: Perhaps I could just ask Liz Hogarth whatkind of obstacles you experienced in trying to get thecivil service machine to go with this agenda.Liz Hogarth: I have to say that there was a completesea change for us. There was a small group of peopleworking in the Women’s Policy Team, and originally,from 2004, we were doing the unfortunately namedWORP—Women’s Offending Reduction Programme.However hard we worked with civil servants, thegeneral response at that time was, “Women are only5% of the prison population; we must focus on thelarger numbers.” It was a real battle to get attention.The sea change that came with the joined-up work andthe cross‐departmental team was huge. It was a veryexciting, vibrant way of working, because what we hadwas Maria Eagle, with an inter‐ministerial group, andall those Ministers from across the piece—the HomeOffice, the DWP, Communities and Local Government,Health—all sitting round a table. That meant that their
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