Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what preventative services his department is offering to individuals in custody to stop re-offending.

We are guided by the evidence of what works to reduce reoffending and are working with partners across Government and at a local level to address the underlying drivers of offending behaviour and improve outcomes for people in custody and on release through better access to treatment and recovery services, prison education, employment support and stable accommodation.

To support recovery from drug and alcohol misuse, we are improving access to mutual aid in prisons. We have also funded Incentivised Substance Free Living units in 88 prisons, where prisoners agree to regular drug testing and can access enhanced opportunities, and will expand these units to a further 12 prisons, bringing the total to 100 across the estate. We have also invested in technology to enable virtual appointments with community treatment providers to support continuity of care on release.

We are also modernising prison education, creating a joined-up system that supports progression from basic literacy and numeracy into skills training and work placements, while widening access to higher education. Alongside this, key employment roles are in place across every resettlement prison to prepare prisoners for work on release, while Regional Employment Councils bring employers together with prisons, probation and DWP to support prison leavers into work.

Through the National Plan to End Homelessness, we are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to halve the proportion of people released from prison homeless and increase the proportion in settled accommodation three months after release by the end of this Parliament.