Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he is making on the development of the Government’s strategy for women offenders and what gaps he has identified in the provision of services to women offenders.

We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. As part of this process we have assessed where the gaps in provision are for community services and the custodial estate.

Considering how we can best address the needs of female offenders, to improve outcomes for them, their families and their communities, is a complex issue that we want to get right.

We are developing a strategy for female offenders to improve outcomes for women in the community and custody. This will be published in due course.