Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Employment Advisory Boards

Tuesday 16 May 2023 · 2 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 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Employment advisory boards chaired by business leaders work to connect prisons with employers.
  • Employment advisory boards at HMP Swaleside set up an internal distribution centre run by prisoners.
  • The Prisons Minister is encouraged to visit HMP Swaleside to see the initiative in action.

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Gordon Henderson Con
Justice & Courts Employment
Context

No specific background provided, but the question relates to employment support for ex-offenders.

Question

What steps he is taking to support employment advisory boards?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Employment advisory boards, chaired by business leaders across the country, do hugely important work to foster links between prisons and employers. Having a job reduces the reoffending rate by up to nine percentage points. That is good for society and for the offenders who turn their lives around. That is why we have rolled out boards to 92 resettlement prisons ahead of schedule.

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Q2 Gordon Henderson Con
Justice & Courts Employment
Context

The MP visited HMP Swaleside and witnessed the work of its employment advisory board, which includes setting up an internal distribution centre.

Question

I recently visited HMP Swaleside, where I witnessed good work done by the excellent employment advisory board, including the setting up of the internal distribution centre run by prisoners. The MP asks for a visit from the Prisons Minister to see this initiative in action.

Answer from Alex Chalk

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue. He is right to highlight the brilliant work of Paul Barrett of Barretts Motor Group, who is bringing that work to HMP Swaleside. Thanks to his hard work we are seeing a dramatic improvement in the percentage of prisoners in employment six months after release—it is up 9% in just a year. My hon. Friend will see an even greater increase when the latest figures come out. My right hon. Friend the Prisons Minister is already planning a trip to the Isle of Sheppey to see those initiatives in action.

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