Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Access to Employment for Ex-offenders

Monday 9 March 2020 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice focus on improving employment prospects for ex-offenders.
  • A pilot scheme is underway in certain Scottish prisons to oversee work coach deployment and support.
  • Work is being done to enable prisoners to claim universal credit safely, including through telephony for jobcentre appointments.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Bob Neill Con Hendon
Justice & Courts NHS Employment
Context

Neill inquires about discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on enhancing employment opportunities for former offenders.

Question

What recent discussions has the Minister had with the Secretary of State for Justice regarding improving employment prospects for ex-offenders? Can she specify when all prisons will have work coaches and what progress has been made to ensure that prisoners can claim universal credit before their release?

Answer from Therese Coffey (Secretary of State for Work and Pensions)

The Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is overseeing a pilot scheme currently running in certain Scottish prisons. We are working with the Prison Service to ensure that universal credit claims can be made safely, including through booking jobcentre appointments via telephony to prevent IT-related crime.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)