Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ending the use of prison sentences of less than eight weeks duration.

There is a case to abolish or further restrict the use of sentences of six months or less, with some exceptions, and we are working towards having firm proposals by the summer.

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.