Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of removing the option of custody for some offences on the (a) level of compliance with community orders and (b) use of suspended sentences.

We are considering options to restrict the use of short custodial sentences, including looking at their wider effects, but we have not at this stage reached any conclusions.

There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 found that over a 1-year follow up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended having been sentenced to custody of under 12 months without supervision on release than other similar people given community orders.

Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.