A multimillion pound government strategy to reduce the number of women being jailed for non-violent offences has been postponed, the Guardian can disclose.



Plans to set up community prisons for women and to launch a scheme that would provide support for female offenders were supposed to be announced this month. The Ministry of Justice has delayed finalisation of the strategy, which is now going to be rewritten.



Whitehall sources said the plans would have cost the department up to £30m and that spending pressures had prompted a review by David Gauke, the justice secretary.



Some capital spending on both men’s and women’s prisons is also being reviewed by the government, the sources said.



The decision has dismayed prison reform campaigners who have been waiting for several years for the female offenders’ strategy to be implemented.



Peter Dawson, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “It would beggar belief if the justice secretary really wanted to rethink a change in approach that everyone with knowledge of the issues supports.”

He added: “Support in the community offers better public protection at a fraction of the cost of prisons. Because women are disproportionately sent to prison for short periods as a result of non-violent offences, the dividend of a new approach could be realised quickly.”





There is broad political consensus that female offenders are some the most vulnerable members of society and often have complex needs. A significant number of such women suffer from mental health issues, substance use, trauma and abuse, homelessness, poor education and unemployment.



The need for a female offenders’ strategy was raised in the white paper Prison Safety and Reform in 2016 by Liz Truss, the then justice secretary. It has since been developed by successive ministers.



The latest plan brought together the National Probation Service, community rehabilitation companies and local agencies to support women as well as coordinating help with mental health staff in police stations and courts. They also planned to set up new community prisons to house vulnerable women ahead of release.

The charity Inquest released a report on Wednesday that showed that 116 women died while under probation supervision after release from prison between 2010-11 and 2016-17.



Women account for 5% of the total prison population of about 85,000 in England and Wales but have much higher rates of deaths, suicide attempts and self-harm than men. Last year there were 2,093 incidents of self-harm per 1,000 female prisoners, up 12% on the previous year, compared with 445 incidents per 1,000 male prisoners, up 8%.



Most of the women who go to prison do so for non-violent offences (84%), such as for theft linked to poverty and addictions (47%). Nearly two-thirds (62%) of sentences are for six months or less – which is enough time to lose a job, housing or child custody.



Deborah Coles, the executive director of Inquest, said: “The government can prevent the harm done in the criminal justice system by redirecting resources from prisons to welfare, health, housing and social care. While ministers continue to drag their heels on the women’s justice strategy, women continue to die.”

The MoJ’s budget will have been cut, at current prices, from £9.3bn in 2010-11 to £5.6bn by 2019-20, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Asked to explain whether the plans have been suspended, a source close to the department said: “The women offenders’ strategy is being re-examined and improved, hopefully over the summer. These plans will be implemented in the long term.”



An MoJ spokesperson said: “The department does not recognise the £30m figure attached to the female offenders’ strategy and will soon be setting out our plans.”

