Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support prison leavers to find work.

To improve the number of prison leavers who find work, we are putting additional emphasis on initiatives which offer offenders the chance to work in prison, on Release on Temporary Licence and on release and build stronger links with employers.

In last year’s Prisons Strategy White Paper, we announced a range of measures to improve outcomes for prison leavers.

Alongside our new Employment Advisory Boards that build links between prisons and industry, we also need to ensure that prisons are performing and developing these links. So, we are establishing ‘Employment Hubs’ which are the equivalent of a ‘job centre in a prison’. Prisoners can find out about opportunities sourced by New Futures Network and other partners, as well as access support with applications. There are 23 in operation currently.

We have also been trialling a new role - a dedicated employment advisor to improve employment outcomes by offering case-level support and matching candidates to roles, in ten prisons.

All of these measures will be rolled out across the prison estate.