Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Julie Morgan (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Reoffending

Question: I know that the Minister is aware that women who offend often have multiple problems such as alcoholism and substance abuse. Does she agree that by addressing those problems through mentoring schemes such as those in the Women's Turnaround project in Cardiff, which has recently benefited from another Government grant, we will reduce reoffending?

Answer: I accept my hon. Friend's point. I, too, commend the work of Women's Turnaround in Cardiff, which I have visited and for which, as she rightly says, the Ministry of Justice provides some funding. The project does excellent work in tackling the causes of offending among women who often end up serving short sentences, and whose life situations worsen because of those short sentences, rather than their being able to tackle the cause of their offending.

Secondary information