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<p>The Female Offender Strategy set out the Government’s vision of fewer women offending
and reoffending; fewer women in custody, especially on short-term sentences, with
a greater proportion of women managed in the community successfully; and where prison
is necessary, better conditions for those in custody. The average female prison population
in 2010 was 4236, compared to 3126 as of 29 January 2021 - a decrease of 26%. Delivery
of the community commitments in our Strategy and in the recent Sentencing White Paper
should see this trend continue in the long-term.</p><p>We published our latest population
projections in November 2020, in which we included prison projections for four scenarios
– the three police impact scenarios in response to the plan to recruit an additional
20,000 police offices and a fast court recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>At
a meeting of the Advisory Board on Female Offenders (ABFO) on 21 January, attendees
were informed that the additional police officers were expected to lead to an increase
in the male and female prison populations, and that it was necessary to plan for this,
to ensure that there were safe, decent and secure places to meet this demand. On 22
January 2021, in advance of the announcement on 23 January 2021, we informed all ABFO
members that up to 500 new places, designed to meet the specific needs of women, will
be built in existing prisons to increase availability of single cells and improve
conditions as part of the 18,000 additional prison places programme. These places
will enable us to hold more women closer to home and their families.</p><p>All ABFO
members were invited to a workshop on 4 February, attended by the Minister of State
for Prisons and Probation, to discuss and understand their views and concerns surrounding
the women’s prison estate. During this session, we were able to provide further information
on the scope of our work, and our future proposals. We will continue to engage with
stakeholders as our plans develop.</p>
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