Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the (1) range, and (2) design, of community sentences in order to (a) decrease custody, (b) reduce recidivism, and (c) improve the reintegration of offenders into society.

Community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences and, when considering a community sentence, courts have a comprehensive range of requirements which they can impose. There are fourteen requirements available, including electronic monitoring and Community Payback, which the courts can choose from based on the circumstances of the case with the intention of punishing the offender, providing reparation to the community, and addressing any rehabilitative needs of the offender to improve the reintegration of offenders into society. Recently, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 strengthened community sentences by introducing the option for tougher and more flexible use of electronically monitored curfews, and powers to pilot problem-solving courts for specific cohorts of offenders that aim to address underlying needs through intensive community sentences overseen by a lead judge and multi-disciplinary team.

Following the unification of Probation services last year, we are putting additional investment into the delivery of community sentences. This includes up to a further £93 million in Community Payback to enable Probation to deliver up to 8 million hours per year. This ensures that offenders give back to the communities they have harmed, but also learn new vocational and work-ready skills.

The courts can also sentence a person to complete an Accredited Programme, designed to address the attitudes, thinking and behaviour that led to the offending. They are developed in line with the best available evidence of what works to reduce reoffending and are accredited by a panel of international experts. Evidence shows that when delivered well, offending behaviour programmes are effective at reducing recidivism. A variety of other support and interventions are available for those where delivering an Accredited Programme is not appropriate or an offender is not eligible, including Structured Interventions and Toolkits.

We have also refocused Integrated Offender Management (IOM) on our most persistent and problematic neighbourhood crime offenders and are investing further to commission services specifically for this group and introduce new roles to strengthen enforcement. IOM aligns the Probation Service more closely with the police, and builds greater links with public and voluntary services, to better incentivise offenders to overcome the complex issues that can fuel or exacerbate their criminal behaviour, such as substance misuse, poor mental health, and issues with housing or employment, in turn reducing recidivism and improving the reintegration of offenders into society.