Pre-Market Engagement - Bail Support Pilot for Women

Overview

The Department of Justice (the Department) is currently preparing to initiate a grant process to establish a contract with a Supplier to deliver a Bail Support pilot scheme for women initially, ahead of considered wider roll out to the adult male population.  Prior to initiating the grant process the Department wishes to establish the level of market interest in participating in this pilot and seek the views of the sector on the proposed scheme.

This pre-market engagement is aimed at organisations with relevant experience of providing services and support to individuals with complex needs, such as substance misuse and/or mental health issues. It would be helpful but not essential if the organisation had experience of working with individuals that have had contact with the criminal justice system. It will help to inform the development of the bail support pilot, for women initially, with the primary aims of:

• the prevention of (re)offending while on bail and supporting pathways to desistance;
• custodial remand being reserved for the most appropriate criminal cases (essential minimum); and
• appearance of defendants at court and ultimately to reduce delay.

The provision of a bail support pilot scheme will help to achieve the Department’s mission; working in partnership to create a fair, just and safe community, where we respect the law and each other by delivering under the core aim of challenging offending behaviours and supporting rehabilitation.  It also aligns with the Minister’s priorities to mitigate against the rising prison population, serving as a viable alternative to remand in custody for the Judiciary to utilise.

Background

Since 1 June 2022, there has been an exponential rise in the prison population in Northern Ireland by 30%, creating unsustainable pressure on the prison estate, staffing and services as well as partner agencies resources.  As a result, support is spread increasingly thinly across the prison population and not targeted to approaches that can have most impact.  The remand population accounts for 37% of the total prison population and 48% of the female prison population. Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of remand prisoners when compared to England and Wales (18.3%), Scotland (27.6%) and the Republic of Ireland (19.0%) – based on 2023/24 data.  This may be attributed to a number of factors, including a lack of viable alternatives to remand for the Judiciary to impose and delay within the justice system.

To give some context to the scale of this issue, during June 2025, almost eight out of ten (79%) of committals into custody were remand. Additionally, for individuals that spent time on remand between 2015 and 2020, 42% did not receive a custodial sentence (53% of which were female), and of the 58% that did ultimately receive a custodial sentence, just over half (52%) of these were for short sentences of less than 12 months.

We know that even a short period on remand can mean the loss of a home, a job and the ability to fulfil caring responsibilities. The Prison Service’s ability to affect change with this cohort is limited, as engaging with rehabilitation can be deemed an admission of guilt and many fear this may impact on the outcome of their court case. Also, uncertainty on the length of their time in custody means that it is difficult to plan for resettlement back into their communities.

Two inspection reports were published in 2023 – Criminal Justice Inspection’s ‘The Operation of Bail and Remand in Northern Ireland’ and Northern Ireland Audit Office’s ‘Reducing Adult Reoffending in Northern Ireland’ – which recognised the lack of alternatives to remand in Northern Ireland and recommended scoping and introducing a bail support scheme. More recently, the Northern Ireland Assembly Public Accounts Committee undertook an inquiry into ‘Reducing Adult Reoffending in Northern Ireland’ and its report, published June 2025, also recommended that the Department should introduce bail support services.

A justice-wide Working Group on Remand had commissioned this work to be taken forward and subsequently established a cross-Executive Task and Finish Group, with representation from criminal justice partners, Department of Health and Northern Ireland Housing Executive, to develop and implement the pilot scheme.  This group has been pivotal in developing the framework for the scheme, having undertaken benchmarking exercises in neighbouring jurisdictions and New Zealand to identify key learning and establish best practice to apply in a Northern Ireland context.

The Group has agreed that the pilot should be implemented in a phased approach, starting with women in two court areas in Northern Ireland, with proposed expansion nationwide and further to the full adult cohort, subject to efficacy of the pilot and resources.

Why your views matter

We welcome the views of the voluntary and community sector in this design process.  Your valued opinions and will help to shape and inform the development of the pilot scheme.