Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Reducing Reoffending

Tuesday 26 March 2024 · 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 4 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Reducing reoffending is a core mission, with a focus on accommodation and employment support, leading to a 6 percentage point drop in the reoffending rate.
  • Release on temporary licence schemes are expanded through video suite interviews and governor reviews to ensure rehabilitation and employment opportunities.
  • Steps include investing 100 million in prison gate security, including airport-style scanners and technology to detect psychoactive substances in mail.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stephen Crabb Con
Justice & Courts
Context

MP asks about steps taken to reduce reoffending, referencing the Welsh Affairs Committee's hearing on businesses working with prisons.

Question

What steps he is taking to reduce reoffending? He may be aware that the Welsh Affairs Committee has recently heard from businesses such as Timpson and Williams Homes about work being done. While there was praise for the New Futures Network, what is being done to expand release on temporary licence schemes?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Reducing reoffending is a core mission. Rolled out 12 weeks' guaranteed accommodation for offenders and invested in employment with prison employment leads in every resettlement prison. Reoffending rate fell from 31% to 25%. Prisoners' employability improved, with the proportion of prison leavers in employment more than doubling.

Answered
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Q2 Stephen Crabb Con
Justice & Courts
Context

MP asks about steps taken to reduce reoffending, referencing the Welsh Affairs Committee's hearing on businesses working with prisons.

Question

What is being done to expand release on temporary licence schemes? They are important for improving employability and giving prisoners a better chance of holding down a job when they get out.

Answer from Alex Chalk

Praising the New Futures Network, which does exceptional work in custody. Prisoners can be interviewed by employers on the outside through video suites. Prison governors keep ROTL under review for safe cases to ensure rehabilitation and employment.

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Q3 Derek Twigg Lab Widnes and Halewood
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

MP asks about steps taken to reduce the amount of drugs getting into prisons.

Question

The Secretary of State will know that one of the ways to reduce reoffending is by breaking the cycle of drug misuse. The problem is high incidence of drugs getting in, so what is he doing to reduce this?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Rolled out £100 million in prison gate security with airport-style scanners for body and mail scanning. Additional technology scans mail for psychoactive substances impregnated into paper. Rolled out drug abstinence wings to tackle drugs coming into prisons.

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Q4 Bob Neill Con
Justice & Courts
Context

MP welcomes comments on tackling reoffending but notes stubbornly high rates of reoffending despite high imprisonment rates.

Question

We imprison more people than most of our neighbours in Europe, but still have higher rates of reoffending. Does that not posit the need for a smarter use of prison and alternatives to custody? Would he agree the Sentencing Bill is valuable?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Stripping out emotion, following evidence: GPS tags doubled; alcohol tags with 97% compliance rate show lower reoffending rates. The Sentencing Bill provides tools for politicians to make more intelligent use of prison and alternatives to custody.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about smart sentencing is not directly addressed, focusing instead on the value of the Sentencing Bill.

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Q5 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Justice & Courts Education
Context

MP thanks Secretary of State for commitment to physical and skills training, asks about education in prisons.

Question

Thank you. You are never going to let me forget my birthday. I thank the Secretary of State for his answers on training. The other important issue is education. If we keep minds and bodies active, they will not offend when leaving prison, so what is being done to help with education?

Answer from Alex Chalk

Rolling out a prison education service with £150 million annually. Ensuring education provided is tailored to local job opportunities through tie-ups between employment advisory boards, governors, and New Futures Network. Tailored education helps literacy for hospitality jobs.

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