Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

What a load of complete nonsense! The reality is that the Opposition have no idea how to deal with the problem of reoffending. They are in opposition, and we are now less than a year away from a general election, yet I have not the slightest idea of what they would do in our place. I am not prepared to allow a situation to continue in which people are left to walk the streets with no post-prison supervision, resulting in thousands of them reoffending, when we know from the experience of the pilot that we set up in Peterborough that mentoring those offenders can bring down crime significantly.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to reduce reoffending by persistent offenders.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

6. What progress he has made on his reforms to rehabilitation aimed at reducing reoffending.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jeremy Wright)]

On 13 March 2014, the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 received Royal Assent. This Act addresses the gap that sees 50,000 short-sentenced prisoners—those most likely to reoffend—released on to the streets each year with no support, by providing those offenders with supervision in the community for the first time in recent history.

[Steve Brine]

The Minister will be aware that a major reducing reoffending conference was held in Winchester earlier this month, organised by the high sheriff of Hampshire and the police and crime commissioner. Does he agree that although we must bring short-term persistent offenders into supervision, as we are doing, we must also invest heavily in treatment and give sentencers some real options if the system is to work? That has been done, and successfully, in the Right on Crime initiative in Texas.