Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the potential impact of a) being a peer mentor, or b) having a peer mentor, on reoffending rates.

Reducing reoffending is a top priority for this Government. Our approach is led by evidence on what works to support offenders in turning away from crime, focusing on addressing the underlying needs linked to offending behaviour, including housing, employment and education, substance misuse treatment, family ties and improving personal skills and behaviours.

Peer mentoring already plays an important role in supporting rehabilitation within prison and probation services. It is used in various ways, including providing lived experience insights into probation requirements and direct one-to-one mentoring. Some peer-led services are also delivered by external organisations, further supporting rehabilitation efforts. Overall, there is national variation in delivery of peer-led services.

While there is external evidence that peer mentoring can be beneficial, there is currently no centrally collated data on how many people in custody have served as a peer mentor or had access to one over the last 10 years.

A recent study by HMPPS (Ministry of Justice, 2024, Education, Skills, and Work, Peer Mentoring in Men’s Prisons, Ministry of Justice Analytical Series) found that peer mentoring can positively influence inmates' engagement with educational programmes and enhance their skills, as well as improving staff/prisoner relationships.

Every prison has been encouraged to deliver peer mentoring as part of the prison regime. This will help embed peer support across the custodial estate, promoting rehabilitative engagement and enhancing prisoners’ access to mentoring opportunities and supporting.