§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take measures to increase public confidence in community service orders; and if he will make a statement. [56500]
§ Mr. BoatengCommunity service is a very useful sentence. Offenders have to undertake demanding unpaid work for the benefit of the community; and each year about 6 million hours are worked in this way. As well as requiring offenders to make reparation to the community, community service also provides good opportunities for preventing repeat offending and increasing offenders' employability. We therefore want to see greater public awareness and appreciation of the contribution which community service can make to the criminal justice process. Among the measures we have in mind to bring about this aim are:
240WBetter enforcement action by the probation service in the case of offenders who fail to comply with their orders. Prompt and consistent enforcement is a necessary condition for public confidence in all community sentences, and we shall shortly be giving the probation service new guidance on improved performance.
We plan to review National Standards for community service and other community sentences over the coming months, to ensure that they lay down the right expectations for the way in which these sentences are carried out.
We shall be considering, in the light of responses to our consultation document following the Prison/Probation Review, giving community service a new name which will help its purpose and nature to be more widely understood.