Justice written question – answered at on 22 October 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what requirement bidders for probation work will need to meet in respect of the supervision of female offenders.
The Offender Rehabilitation Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes that the supervision requirement and also the current activity requirement are both replaced with a single rehabilitation activity requirement. The effect of this is to allow the probation provider, rather than the court, to decide the exact details of what appointments or activities the offender should take part in.
At the House of Lords Third Reading of the Offender Rehabilitation Bill, the Government moved an amendment to the Bill in relation to female offenders. This will require the Secretary of State to ensure that arrangements for the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders state that he has, in making those arrangements, complied with the public sector duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 as it relates to female offenders. The arrangements must also identify any provision that is intended to meet the particular needs of female offenders. The amendment applies both to contracts with Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and services provided by the National Probation Service.
Providers will need to meet national standards set by the Secretary of State for the management of offenders and will have to evidence in their bids how they would deliver gender-specific rehabilitation support specific to the needs of female offenders. Successful bidders will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.
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