Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support offenders in gaining employment following their release from prison.

The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our ambition to deliver a step-change in the number of prisoners who work in prison, on temporary licence, and secure employment on release.

We will open our doors to the private sector to overhaul the opportunities for work offered in prisons and on Release on Temporary Licence. We will implement dedicated Employment Advisors in prisons and develop a digital tool that will match prisoners to jobs on release.

We will establish more local employment boards to link prisons with business networks. The Secretary of State recently hosted an employment summit, attended by over 600 organisations, at which he set out this department’s commitment to improving employment rates for prison leavers and also establish ‘Employment Hubs’, the equivalent of a ‘jobcentre in a prison’ where prisoners can find out about job opportunities.