5 February 2004 - Benefit sanctions for offenders who breach community sentences pilots to continue
A pilot exercise where offenders who breach their community sentences face losing benefits will be extended for another year.
Today an independent evaluation report was published on the sanctions policy tested in four pilot areas starting in October 2001.
Work and Pensions Minister Chris Pond said: “These sanctions aim to reinforce the principle that the right to benefit brings with it responsibilities.
“We wanted to test whether the threat of losing benefits or having them reduced would have a deterrent effect on those who fail to comply with their community punishment orders.
“The evaluation report shows that there has been a small (1.8%) increase in the number of people who complied with their community sentence because of the sanctions policy. This means that for every 50 community sentences given to those on the relevant benefits, one fewer resulted in breach as a result of the policy.
“However the evaluation showed that both DWP and the Home Office need to do more work to improve the processes involved in the sanction policy and raise awareness of its potential impact.
“The pilot exercise will be extended for a further year so that we can further assess its impact once improvements have been made before making a decision on whether to roll out the sanctions regime nationally.”
The Correctional Services Minister, Paul Goggins said: “The policy of benefit sanctions for offenders who breach community sentences is innovative, and the evaluation has highlighted some lessons to be learnt.
“It would seem sensible to test these further before making a final decision on whether or not the scheme should be extended to the rest of the country.
“It is important that we look at all initiatives to improve compliance with court sentences and that we underline offenders’ responsibility to meet the requirements imposed by the courts.”
Notes for editors
- The pilot is a cross-Government initiative between DWP and the Home Office. The Home Office estimates that there are around 130,000 community sentences given in a year in England and Wales. Of these, around a quarter, or 35,000 cases a year are subject to breach action. The relevant legislation to implement the pilot is the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.
- The pilot scheme applies to recipients of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and specific training allowances, aged 18 to 59, and who have been referred to court for a breach of a specified community sentence: a community rehabilitation order, a community punishment order, or a community punishment and rehabilitation order.
- Four probation service areas have been selected for the pilot exercise in order to comply with specific criteria that would enable the evaluators to assess both the effects of the sanction and its administration. The four pilot areas are Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Teesside and West Midlands.
- The period of sanction is four weeks, in which 100 per cent of Jobseeker’s Allowance is withdrawn and Income Support is reduced by 20 per cent or 40 per cent depending on the offender’s circumstances.
- A separate press release on the publication of DWP Research Report 198: Evaluation of the Community Sentences and Withdrawal of Benefits Pilots is also published today. A summary of the report is available on the DWP website on the Statistics and Research page.
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