To ask Her Majesty's Government when the organisations running projects funded under the Diverting Women from Custody programme will be informed by the Directors of Offender Management whether they will be re-funded at the end of their two-year funding period; and whether the timescale will take account of any effect on staff retention from late re-funding decisions.

The Ministry of Justice has provided over £10 million until March 2011 to established, voluntary sector providers to develop women's community projects that tackle the complex and underlying causes of their offending. The projects form a key part of our approach to reducing the number of women in prison who do not pose a risk to the public through providing effective community sentences that meet the different needs of women and reduce reoffending. Directors of Offender Management working with probation are taking the lead role in sustaining successful activity through joint local commissioning and partnership arrangements. It should be noted that the projects are not simply reliant on DOM's funding and many now draw upon a range of statutory and charitable sources.