Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the use of community sentencing.

Sentencing is a matter for the independent judiciary and it is right that they have a broad range of sentencing powers, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences, to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders based on the circumstances of the case.

To strengthen the option of community sentences for sentencers, this Government introduced reforms through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022 to make them tougher, better monitored, and more effective for punishing offenders, tackling the underlying drivers of offending, and providing support for those who want to turn their lives around.

This includes the option for tougher and more flexible use of electronically monitored curfews to better reflect the punishment intended, better support rehabilitation, and better protect victims. The Government is also piloting Problem-Solving Courts (PSC) for specific cohorts with underlying needs through robust supervision and interventions delivered by a multi-agency team with judicial oversight.

Beyond the Act, we are: increasing the use of community sentence treatment requirements which require offenders to engage with mental health, drug/alcohol treatment as part of their community sentence; investing up to £120m to get more offenders engaged in treatment; completing and evaluating the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) Pilots to continue the development of higher quality and timely PSRs to support judicial decision making; implementing our refreshed Integrated Offender Management Strategy to align police and probation in rigorous supervision of specific offenders within the community; and exploring options to increase the availability of robust residential requirements for women.