Meeting of the Parliament 28 January 2015
My officials are engaged in work on those projects. When the projects received funding two years ago, part of the agreement concerned their sustainability and the ability to reconfigure existing services. We are working with them to ensure that that happens.
As I have made clear to members, I am determined to reduce the female prison population, and to enable more women to do the tough work that they need to do to turn their lives around in their communities. That is why I announce today that we will invest an additional £1.5 million in 2015-16 to support community-based provision for women offenders.
The course that I have set opens up the potential for greater use of community-based solutions for women who offend and women who are at risk of offending. That will benefit us all. By dealing appropriately and effectively with that vulnerable group of women, we will ensure that Scotland will be a safer place.
I move amendment S4M-12160.2, to leave out from “to abandon” to end and insert:
“not to proceed with the plans for HMP Inverclyde as a prison for women; agrees that Scotland needs to take a more radical, ambitious and sophisticated approach in the way in which it deals with female offenders; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to enter into dialogue with all interested parties to develop a modern and progressive response to women who offend in Scotland, and agrees with the view of the Commission on Women Offenders that it is imperative that mainstream service providers, such as health, education and housing work, recognise their responsibilities and work collaboratively with each other and with criminal justice partners to facilitate the provision of all necessary services to women offenders.”
15:36Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
- S4M-12160.2 Women Offenders Motion