Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Custodial and Community Sentences

Tuesday 9 January 2024 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • 2019 Ministry of Justice analysis shows 55% of offenders sentenced to less than 12 months' immediate custody reoffend within a year.
  • Desmond Swayne questions how community sentences can be considered tough compared to custodial sentences based on his experience.
  • Government increased probation budget by 155 million and recruited an additional 4,000 staff.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Desmond Swayne Con New Forest West
Justice & Courts
Context

Desmond Swayne seeks to understand the comparative effectiveness between short custodial sentences and community sentences based on Ministry of Justice analysis.

Question

If he will make a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of short custodial sentences and sentences served in the community. A 2019 Ministry of Justice analysis shows that offenders serving immediate custody of less than 12 months reoffend more often, with 55% being convicted within a year compared to 32% for those serving sentences in the community.

Answer from Gareth Bacon

A 2019 Ministry of Justice analysis of a matched cohort of 30,000 offenders shows that those serving sentences of immediate custody of less than 12 months reoffend more often than similar offenders serving a sentence in the community—55% of those sentenced to less than 12 months' immediate custody were convicted in the following 12 months, which compares with 32% among those serving their sentence in the community.

Answered
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Q2 Desmond Swayne Con New Forest West
Justice & Courts
Context

Desmond Swayne questions the perceived toughness and effectiveness of community sentences based on his experience.

Question

For years, I was a visitor at the Scrubs and at HMP Wandsworth. Persuade me that community sentences can be really tough. Based on my experience as a visitor at these facilities, I want to know how community sentences can be considered truly tough in comparison to custodial sentences.

Answer from Gareth Bacon

I suggest that the outcome speaks for itself.

Not addressed: The specific ask about the toughness of community sentences was not addressed with evidence or explanation.

How: I Suggest That The Outcome Speaks For Itself.

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Q3 Shabana Mahmood Lab Birmingham Ladywood
Policing & Resources Justice & Courts
Context

Shabana Mahmood questions the adequacy of resources provided to the probation service to handle increased community sentences due to prison capacity issues.

Question

Many, many more offenders will be serving their sentences in the community as a result of measures in the upcoming Sentencing Bill. We all know that these measures have been rushed out due to prison capacity crises created by the Government. Given that only one of 33 probation delivery units is rated 'good' and all others are rated 'requiring improvement' or 'inadequate,' what additional resources have been put in place to ensure potentially dangerous criminals are properly monitored?

Answer from Gareth Bacon

We have recently increased the budget for probation by £155 million and ramped up recruitment, with an additional 4,000 staff recruited over the last period of time.

Answered
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Q4 Shabana Mahmood Lab Birmingham Ladywood
Justice & Courts
Context

Shabana Mahmood criticises the Government for rushing through Sentencing Bill measures without ensuring that the probation service is ready and capable of handling increased responsibilities.

Question

That is a four-year-old announcement dressed up as something new and, given the extensive changes in the Sentencing Bill, I am afraid that it will just not cut it. Under the Conservatives, our vital probation service has been taken to the brink of collapse, and on current performance it simply cannot handle the additional pressure these measures will bring and keep the public safe. So will the Minister commit to ensuring that the measures in the Bill will not come into effect until there is not one probation delivery unit still rated as 'inadequate'?

Answer from Gareth Bacon

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We will keep this under review as the Bill passes through the House, and we will make further announcements on it in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about a commitment to ensuring that no measures come into effect until all probation delivery units are rated 'good' was not directly addressed.

How: We Will Keep This Under Review As The Bill Passes Through The House, And We Will Make Further Announcements On It In Due Course.

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