This report largely focuses on the commitments of the Female Offender Strategy and does not aim to assess all the various individual interventions or initiatives carried out by the Ministry and wider government that may impact on women’s lives and therefore contribute to the strategy’s aims.

Over three years since the publication of the strategy, the report examines:

the Ministry’s approach to implementing the strategy (Part Two);
its progress so far (Part Three and Appendix Three); and
whether it is on track to achieve its aims (Part Three).



Report conclusions

There is clear value in the aims of the government’s 2018 Female Offender Strategy, given the negative impacts of offending on women and their families and the substantial but poorly understood costs to the taxpayer. The Ministry established a programme to oversee implementation of the strategy but it did not prioritise investment in the programme, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Progress in implementing activities has therefore been limited. Several aspects of programme management and accountability, including goals, governance and monitoring and evaluation arrangements, have been weak.

The strategy’s aims require cross-government collaboration and cannot be addressed by the Ministry alone. This makes transparency and building the evidence base of what works particularly vital. But the Ministry does not have a good understanding of the impact of the programme’s interventions or whether the system is yet working as it intends. The Ministry must get a better grasp of changes in the system and their impact so that it can identify and share best practice and secure and prioritise limited funding. It cannot demonstrate that its funding is delivering value for money, nor will it be able to until it develops this understanding. (From the website). Record #7445