Member

and went on to make suggestions for ways in which community sentences could be improved. We are well aware that, broadly, the benefit of a community sentence is that it provides a degree of stability for the offender, who might be able to continue in the job that they are in and can certainly continue to be engaged in family life and those sorts of things. That by itself will help to reduce reoffending, but we also know that community sentences, if done well, can provide time to address the underlying causes that led to the crime. Some of those underlying causes are to do with problems of mental health and various addictions. My Amendment 70, when we come to it, will look at that issue in more detail and I will want to include gambling disorder within the sweep of issues that need to be addressed.