Troubled Families Programme
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Corston
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
First, I join the noble Earl in his tributes to Louise Casey. She has undertaken a great initiative on the programme referred to. She is also, as the noble Earl is aware, dealing with the very challenging issues that we currently face in Rotherham and we wish her well in the inquiry there. I am sure that is the sentiment of all in your Lordships’ House. On the issue of housing, of course the Government appreciate the importance of good, sustainable housing. Therefore, as many noble Lords will know, we have embarked on a programme of housebuilding that is helping those who are most challenged in the rental sector. We are encouraging buy to rent and we are also encouraging more people to enter the housing market. The Government have a raft of different housing initiatives because we believe, as the noble Earl rightly points out, that a good home and a good home for a family at the beginning is the keystone, pivotal point and foundation to ensure that a child and, indeed, the whole family progresses.
Baroness Corston (Lab)
My Lords, quite a proportion of troubled families are headed by women who are in contact with, or have been in contact with, the criminal justice system. Is it not vital that the Government continue to support the more than 50 women’s community centres in England and Wales which help such women turn their lives around and make them parents of whom their children are proud? Will the noble Lord speak to his colleagues in the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice to make sure that the Transforming Rehabilitation programme does not leave these women’s centres behind? That is what I am most concerned will happen.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The noble Baroness raises a very important point. Indeed, in raising that issue she has both great experience and has done an incredible amount of work in the area of women’s rehabilitation, particularly women offenders, and I pay tribute to that. She has raised an important point about the need to work together and to ensure that the women’s groups work at a local level. On a slightly different matter, before coming to the House, I met a women’s group dealing with domestic violence and identifying those issues. I talked about extending the programme to 400,000. One of the defining criteria now will be looking at domestic violence to ensure that those who are impacted are assessed and, most importantly, helped and brought back so they can be proud of their own contribution and the contributions of their families to society as a whole.
Probation Services: Outsourcing
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Baroness Corston
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
First and foremost, public safety will not be compromised in any sense. What we are putting forward in no way jeopardises that. As far as recall is concerned, once we have completed this particular consultation exercise, we will look at the concerns which have been raised. I will write to the noble Lord, detailing some of the specific proposals on that point.
Baroness Corston
Can the Minister assure me that no woman will be recalled to prison for a breach constituting mere failure to keep a probation appointment, sometimes for very good family or transport reasons?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The noble Baroness raises an important point. We need to ensure that when there are breaches of sentences, they are looked at effectively and in a structured way if recalls are issued. I have already alluded to two facts: circa 16,000 recalls are issued annually and, once they are assessed, the prison population currently represent only 5,000 of that figure. I believe that we have robust procedures in place to ensure that any recalls issued are reviewed and that the people who then are sent back to prison are sent back because they have reoffended. I am sure that all noble Lords will agree about the reoffending rates we see across the country. I was startled, in my own experience in local government, to see the level of youth offending, which was in excess of 70%. If you bear in mind that close to 50% of people go on to reoffend, we really need to take some drastic action to address this issue.