Lord Actonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by Lord Rooker on 29th November 2001 (HL Deb, cols. 456–57), whether they have decided to establish a board responsible for women in the criminal justice system as recommended by the Lord Chief Justice. [HL2421]
§ Lord RookerThe Government are examining current commissioning and delivery structures across all correctional services. It is likely that changes will be made to enable an improvement in the current focus on 18 to 20 year-olds in the first instance, with a view to expanding this focus to other groups. Women offenders, for example, would be a group that could benefit from such a restructure.
We have recently received the first preliminary report on the operation of the new youth justice system which provides a welcome steer on the benefits or otherwise of distinct treatment for groups of offenders with distinct needs. We are fortunate to have this model and the findings of this first review will need to be considered in the context of current deliberations about how best to deliver, manage and monitor correctional services.