Making Women’s Justice a National Priority: An Open Letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Norris
Lilly Lewis, Women’s Involvement Advisor, One Small Thing
Dear Andy Burnham and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Norris,
Congratulations on your appointments. I write from direct experience in Greater Manchester as a Changing Futures MEAM worker, and founder of Watering Your Soul CIC, a LiveWell grant recipient in Rochdale, and Women’s Involvement Advisor at One Small Thing – a charity whose aim is to redesign the justice system for women and their children. Across these different roles I have seen how the right local leadership can change life trajectories for women in, or at risk of contact with the justice system.
The approaches taken in Greater Manchester offer a strong foundation to build from nationally. The focus on decent, secure housing; a living‑well approach that integrates mental health, substance use, and trauma support; and fair access to training and employment have made a tangible difference. When a woman has a stable roof, a responsive GP and trauma‑informed support, and a pathway to employment, she is far less likely to be drawn into the justice system. In services we see stability and safety and translating into fewer breaches, fewer crises, and fewer returns to court.
I am asking you both to use this moment of national leadership to make women’s justice a statutory, cross‑government priority backed by sustained funding for specialist community services, clear accountability for delivery, and meaningful power for women with lived experience to shape reform.
What works for women and why it matters
Housing first, safety first: Safe, affordable homes create stability for women, make community sentences workable, and give mothers a chance to keep families together.
Living well, not just ‘coping’: Integrated, trauma‑informed support especially for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, pregnant women, and mothers prevents crises and enables women to move from ‘surviving’ to ‘thriving’.
Employment with support: Routes into decent work, alongside debt advice and childcare support, helps women rebuild confidence, create stability, and reduces the risk of reoffending more reliably than short custodial sentences.
Community is the intervention: Women’s centres and specialist community services provide trauma informed and gender responsive support that address the root causes of criminalisation, and play a vital role in diversion and problem‑solving.
Now that you lead nationally, there is a critical opportunity to match ambition with delivery and scale what works consistently, so outcomes no longer depend on a postcode lottery.
What national leadership should look like
Put women’s justice reform on a statutory footing
The Government’s July response to the Women’s Justice Board (WJB) report and the new Women’s Justice Advisory Group are welcome, but without executive authority, clear accountability and published timelines recommendations risk gathering dust. Model a future Women’s Justice Board on the Youth Justice Board: permanent, underpinned by statute, with clear powers, duties and levers across the system, led by a diverse panel of experts with lived, professional and academic experience.
Sustain and grow specialist community services
The additional funding of £31.6 million for women’s services announced in March this year has been a welcome step for women's centres and specialist community services. To deliver lasting change, this investment must be multi-year, giving services the certainty needed to retain skilled staff, expand capacity and plan for the long term.
Make cross‑government collaboration the default
The challenges that bring women into contact with the justice system cannot be solved by the justice system alone. National reform should embed shared objectives and pooled budgets across justice, health, housing, work and pensions, and education, building on the coordinated approach that has shown promise in Greater Manchester. This cross departmental approach should be reflected in practical measures such as ringfenced housing allocations for women leaving custody, specialist perinatal and maternal health pathways, and childcare support that enables women to engage fully with supervision, training and employment.
To the Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Norris - your portfolio gives you a rare chance to turn the Women’s Justice Board’s work into lasting change. The previous Board set out a coherent, evidence‑informed plan. The new Advisory Group could be the bridge to a statutory Women’s Justice Board with the authority to drive delivery and set clear milestones.
If you champion that cross‑department, statutory model bringing housing, health, employment and education to the same table you can convert years of consultation into action that lasts beyond any single parliament.
Without a clear strategy, reform risks becoming a series of fragmented initiatives rather than lasting change. Custody numbers may keep rising unless sentencing reform is matched by credible community alternatives - otherwise, the underlying drivers of women’s criminalisation risk being overlooked. This would deepen inequalities and add further pressure to a specialist sector already stretched by short-term funding cycles. Women’s justice reform must be more than rebranding. It must be a funded, accountable programme that builds trust and delivers measurable change for women, families and communities.
Yours sincerely,
Lilly Lewis
Women’s Involvement Advisor, One Small Thing
