Greater London Authority: Gender Equality Scheme

Consultation Deadline: 11 August 2010

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is consulting on its Gender Equality Scheme.  The consultation document highlights nine key areas: poverty; employment & business; education & skills; violence & safety; transport; housing & planning; health; London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; GLA as an employer.  Our principle concern is that the inequality experienced by women in the criminal justice system is addressed in this Equality Scheme please highlight this if you are responding.

Women in Prison will be coordinating a joint response to this consultation to make this point and evidence this need, further details will be on the website in early July.  Please comment below on what you think we should be including in the response.

The End of Women’s Semi-open Prisons

On 2 March 2010 the recategorisation of HMP Morton Hall and HMP Drake Hall from semi-open to closed prisons took effect.  There are now no semi-open prisons in the entire women’s estate and just 228 spaces in open prisons for women.  In answer to a parliamentary question on this issue Maria Eagle MP (then Minister for Prisons) stated that the move “allowed NOMS to more effectively provide for the needs of all women prisoners through greater flexibility in the use of the estate.” However, it means that a greater number of women will be held at a security classification above that which is necessary and appropriate (in contravention of international prison rules) and it limits women’s possibility to progress through the prison system.  Mike Wood MP laid down an Early Day Motion raising concerns about the impact of this move, particularly in relation to family contact.

OPEN for Discussion

Welcome to the Women OPEN discussion site.  This blog is intended to provide a space for those working in the criminal justice field and/or women’s sector to share information and discuss policy developments relating to women in the criminal justice system.

Excerpts from our Women OPEN e-Bulletin will be posted on here for you to comment on. 

We will be monitoring how well used this is as a forum and if it enables a useful discussion about policy issues impacting on us all and the women we work with.  Please post any comments, suggestions or feedback about this as a forum in reply to this post.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you,

Laurel

Policy and Campaigns Manager, Women in Prison