Baroness Hamwee
Main Page: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Hamwee's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(10 months, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I fully agree that there needs to be close interdepartmental co-operation in dealing with this difficult issue.
My Lords, there are many reasons why community sentences may be far preferable to custody, but they do not come without cost. They are more complex than
“cleaning up our neighbourhoods and scrubbing graffiti off walls”,
in the words of the Statement. I think the Minister agrees that services for treatments to address the mental health and addiction problems of many offenders, generally provided by the third sector, must be properly resourced, widely available and centred on each individual. The Justice and Home Affairs Committee of your Lordships’ House, which I chair, has heard evidence of their underfunding alongside the overloading of the Probation Service, which is very reliant on inexperienced staff. Can I urge the Minister and the MoJ to have consultation with the treatment providers? I commend to him the quite detailed written and oral evidence which has been given to our committee.
My Lords, I am sure the evidence before and the conclusions of the committee will be borne well in mind.