Ministry of Justice
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Government launches first ever National service framework for female offenders
Ministerial Champion for Women in the Criminal Justice System, Maria Eagle MP, today launched a framework setting out the national strategy for delivering services to female offenders.
The National Service Framework for Women Offenders lays out the Government's strategy for addressing the specific needs of female offenders and represents a significant step forward in the commitments made in the Government's response to Baroness Corston's report last year.
The Framework is intended to deliver the Government's high-level vision for how services should be delivered to female offenders and will be used by all commissioners and providers who have a responsibility for delivering these services. It will be used as the basis for specifying the exact size, cost and nature of provision in order to deliver upon these priorities.
Maria Eagle MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice said:
"This Framework is the first of its kind and will put in place a sustainable system to deliver a co-ordinated approach to addressing the needs of female offenders coming through the criminal justice system.
"It is essential that we design and deliver services to ensure that women have equal opportunities to address their offending. The vulnerabilities experienced by many women in the criminal justice system, including mental health problems, drug misuse, sexual and domestic abuse and concerns about their children, cannot be ignored.
"I am confident that this document will bring us one step closer to fulfilling our aim to ensure that women who come into contact with the criminal justice system are treated appropriately to protect the public and reduce re-offending whilst also meeting their specific and individual needs."
The Framework will be supported by the publication of an updated version of the National Probation Service 'Good Practice Guide on Delivering Effective Services for Women Offenders in the Community.' This guide, along with the recently published Prison Service Gender Specific Standards, provides more detailed operational guidance for prison and probation staff delivering services for women on the ground.
Notes to Editors
1. Baroness Corston's Report on Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System was published on 13 March 2007.
2. The Government published its response to the report on 6 December 2007.
3. The National Service Framework can be found on the Ministry of Justice website - http://www.justice.gov.uk
4. An update on the Government's progress on the other recommendations made by Baroness Corston will be made to Parliament later in June.
ENDS
