Not enough cash to scrap short jail terms, social workers warn

Published on Tuesday 27 October 2009 21:30

THE SNP's flagship prison reforms came under attack last night from one of the party's main allies on the issue.

Scotland's most senior social workers warned public sector cutbacks could undermine plans from justice secretary Kenny MacAskill to scrap jail sentences of six months or less.

The Association of Directors of Social Work has championed the policy, originally proposed by former Labour first minister Henry McLeish, because they believe it will cut reoffending.

But last night ADSW spokesman Sandy Riddell said the body now feared that the economic downturn and tumbling government spending would make delivering the shift to non-custodial sentences "increasingly difficult".

Mr Riddell, who heads the social work department at Moray Council, also warned vital support agencies for offenders with housing, employment and addiction problems would be looking into the future "through resource-tinted spectacles".

Mr Riddell said: "From the outset, ADSW has stressed that maintaining more offenders on community-based sentences does not only require additional funding for criminal justice social work, but is dependent on a range of agencies playing their part in reducing the underlying causes of offending.

"A combination of the recession and a lack of funding across public services will increasingly make the implementation of more community service orders much more difficult.

"Many supporting agencies who work in partnership with social work departments are also beginning to prioritise which people they support and resources will inevitably move away from preventative work towards work which is directed to those who already have an established pattern of offending behaviour."

Some major supporters of Mr MacAskill's proposals, including prison governors, police chiefs and academics, have already privately expressed concerns that the whole concept of reforms could be set back a decade if they are underfunded. Scotland jails more of its own citizens than any other nation in western Europe.

Labour latched on to Mr Riddell's remarks last night. Its justice spokesman, Richard Baker, said: "We disagree with the ADSW on short sentences. But we do agree there are funding problems for the scheme.

"The concerns raised by the ADSW must be taken most seriously by the Scottish Government. There is a major gap between what the Scottish Government say they want to do on community sentencing and what they are actually prepared to pay for.

"The consequence of this will be thousands more offenders on community sentences without anything like the funding to do that properly."

A government spokesman said funding for criminal justice social work – which is ringfenced – was at record levels with more than 103 million budgeted for next year.