Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is being offered to female offenders to reduce the number of women in prisons.

The Female Offender Strategy emphasises both the importance of diversion and community solutions and the need to provide support for offenders who are in or have left prison.

Since publication of the strategy in June 2018, we have invested £7 million of Strategy funding in women’s community sector services across England and Wales to sustain and enhance current services and provide properties for new women’s centres which provide an important route to diversion from prison.

Under the probation dynamic framework, we have also awarded almost £46 million to charities to deliver wraparound support to women in the criminal justice system over the next three years.

This year we are also boosting funding to steer more women away from crime and prison. £2.5 million will be awarded to community services which tackle root causes of offending and cut crime.