Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which Women’s Centres for women who have offended, or who are at risk of offending, are currently functioning; where those centres are located; who provides funds to those centres; and what assessment they have made of the success of such centres in preventing (1) offending, and (2) re-offending.

The Government recognises the important role played by women’s centres regarding women in contact with or at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system. These holistic services work to support women to address the often complex needs that underlie their offending behaviour.

Women’s centres are spread across England and Wales and receive funding from different sources. Following the publication of the Female Offender Strategy, the Government invested £5.1 million over two years in women’s community sector organisations, including women’s centres. Thirty different organisations across England and Wales received funding, which included the creation of six new women’s centres. On 5 May, the Government announced further funding of £2.5 million for the sector.

However, the detailed information requested about the number of women’s centres that are currently functioning and how they are funded is not held or collected centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.