Employment Ex-offenders 2025-06-03
2025-06-03
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Data shows that offenders who are employed within six weeks of leaving prison have a reoffending rate around half of those out of work. The regional employment councils aim to support offenders in the community.
Employment is crucial to reducing reoffending, and data shows that offenders who are employed within six weeks of leaving prison have a reoffending rate around half of those out of work. Will the Minister outline how the regional employment councils, including in Southport and the Liverpool city region at large, will help to drive down reoffending?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that securing employment is known to reduce the risk of reoffending significantly. The Minister for prisons in the other place has led a business with a track record of getting offenders into employment, and I understand that National Highways is starting to build strong partnerships as chair of the employment councils in Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not provide specific details on how the regional employment councils will help reduce reoffending rates specifically for Southport or Liverpool city region.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Training while in prison is important for offenders to acquire necessary skills, and ongoing support upon release helps ensure they follow the right path.
To help offenders into employment, they need to have the opportunity of training while in prison, and whenever they leave prison to go back into the societies where they live they need someone there to oversee them and ensure they are following the right path. Will the Minister outline how the Government will ensure that that is the case? He is a good Minister, so will he share his ideas with the policing and justice Minister in Northern Ireland, to ensure that the good things that happen here can happen in Northern Ireland as well?
I am very happy to share good practice across Northern Ireland and other regions of the UK, so that we can all learn from one another, and officials meet in the five nations group, as the hon. Gentleman well knows. He is right to say that we need to ensure that people are supported as they move into the community. That is why we are investing in probation, onboarding more than 1,000 probation officers this year and another 1,300 next year.
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Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not provide specific details on how training opportunities while offenders are in prison will be ensured. He focused mainly on probation support upon release.
Response accuracy