Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research the Government has conducted on the reasons why the number of community sentences has declined in the last five years; and if he will place that research in the Library.

Our data shows that between 2010 and 2016, the number of community orders issued fell by 40% (over the same period, prosecutions fell 12%). The fall in number of defendants appearing before court and changes in the mix of offences coming to court are key factors in overall decreased numbers of community sentences.

Published statistics can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics outcomes by offence tool as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly (December 2016), linked below, on gov.uk.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2016