Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Offenders: Giving Back to Communities

Tuesday 24 May 2022 · 5 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK government plans to invest 93 million in community payback staff over the next three years to increase the number of hours worked by offenders.
  • Community payback projects allow offenders to make reparations to communities they have harmed, as seen in recent environmental schemes involving 10,000 hours of work.
  • The government emphasizes the importance of employment, accommodation, and social support for offenders to successfully reintegrate into society.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alun Cairns Con
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Discussion about the need for offenders to give back to their communities after serving sentences.

Question

What plans does he have to help ensure that offenders give back to their communities?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

When people have broken the law, and when it is safe and proportionate for them to do so, they should serve their sentences in the community. We are investing £93 million in community payback staff over the next three years so that we can increase the number of hours worked to a record-breaking 8 million a year.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

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

Q2 Jerome Mayhew Con Broadland and Fakenham
Crime & Law Enforcement Community Security
Context

Discussion about the importance of community payback projects for ensuring visible justice in communities.

Question

Justice needs to be seen to be done, not just for victims but for the wider community, so that they can be confident that offenders are not getting away with it. Community payback projects allow for offenders to make reparations to the communities whom they have harmed. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that he will be working to expand such projects across the country?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

My hon. Friend is right: people do want to see justice being done, in a visible way, in their communities. I hope that he saw some of the 300-odd gangs of offenders who delivered about 10,000 hours of community work across the country, particularly on environmental schemes, during the recent Keep Britain Tidy spring clean-up week.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to expanding such projects

How: Working With Partners

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

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

Q3 Alun Cairns Con
Employment
Context

Recognition of the partnership between Fonmon castle park and gardens, in the questioner's constituency, and HM Prison Parc.

Question

Fonmon castle park and gardens, in my constituency, provides a first-class day out for visitors, but will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating those who run it on the partnership that they have established with HM Prison Parc? This offers new opportunities for offenders, while also resolving some of the labour shortages in the area.

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I am, of course, happy to celebrate the success of Fonmon castle and its partnership with Parc prison. As my right hon. Friend knows, we believe that employment for offenders is critical to moving them into a better life. Building partnerships of that kind between businesses and prisons is key for the future, and I am pleased to tell my right hon. Friend that Parc prison is in line, in the next year, to have one of our new employment advisory boards.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

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

Q4 Tim Farron Lib Dem Westmorland and Lonsdale
Justice & Courts Housing
Context

Discussion about the issue of homelessness faced by ex-offenders post-release.

Question

Offenders are unlikely to be able to give back to their communities if they find themselves homeless on their release from prison, as I have discovered when supporting people in that situation in my own community. Will the Minister undertake to bring to the House a report indicating the extent to which homelessness among ex-offenders is a fact—which it clearly is—along with an action plan to help constituency Members in all parts of the House to support people when they leave prison so that they can lead a stable existence in their communities and therefore give back?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that the provision of a home—of accommodation—for those leaving the secure estate is critical. We believe that there are three pillars to success: a job, a house and a friend to put people on to the straight and narrow.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to undertake report with action plan

How: Principles Without Specifics

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

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

Q5 Ellie Reeves Lab Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Justice & Courts
Context

Discussion about the backlog of up to 100,000 hours owed by offenders due to workload issues and staff shortages.

Question

Unpaid work gives offenders a chance to give back to their communities, but huge workloads and staff shortages in the probation service mean that in some areas there is a backlog of up to 100,000 hours owed by offenders, and some have even had their hours wiped because they have not been completed in time. Is this not just another example of our broken justice system—a system that lets offenders off while victims pay the price? When will the Government get serious and fix this?

Answer from Kit Malthouse

We are recruiting 500 new community supervisors so that we can get on top of some of the covid-related backlog in unpaid work. We have to hit 8 million hours and we have thousands of offenders out there in high-vis jackets doing the work, particularly environmental work with organisations such as the Canal & River Trust.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Concrete timeline for resolving backlog

How: Principles Without Specifics

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

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