Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for a national network of support services for women in the criminal justice system.

The Female Offender Strategy sets out our vision of fewer women entering the justice system and serving short custodial sentences, and better conditions for those women in custody. Support for women to help them address the often complex needs that underlie their offending is essential to delivering the vision of the female offender strategy. This is why, across government, we are investing £5 million of funding over two years in community provision for women. This funding will help to sustain and enhance existing services, and will create new services where there is currently a gap.

Services such as women’s centres receive funding from a range of sources. We will look at the scope to increase the sustainability of the sector as we take forward implementation of our strategy.