Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they plan to make to the prison and probation systems to reduce re-offending.

This Government is committed to reducing crime by tackling reoffending, which accounts for around 80% of cautioned or convicted crime. We are committed to keeping the public safe by addressing the complex issues that lead to offending, while also strengthening the supervision of offenders in the community and monitoring them more closely after they are released from prison to protect the public. Prison and probation provide an opportunity to address the complex drivers of reoffending which is why we will continue to not only recover from the pandemic but use this opportunity to reform and build back safer.

As announced in the Spending Review last year, we have committed over £4 billion funding to make significant progress in delivering 18,000 additional prison places across England and Wales, which forms a major part of our plans to transform the prison estate. These new prison places will provide safe, decent and secure environments to support the delivery of effective interventions to reduce reoffending.

Funding announced in January also demonstrates this Governments commitment to tackling some of the underlying causes of reoffending. It comprised:

• £70 million investment to enhance the Department’s Approved Premises, provide transitional accommodation to those leaving prison who would otherwise be homeless, and to test new innovative approaches to ensure offenders resettle back into the community and turn their backs on crime.
• £80m on expanding drug treatment services in England to address offenders’ substance misuse issues, divert them on to effective community sentences and reduce drug-related crime and deaths.

As part of the £70 million package we are working collaboratively with 16 prisons to design, implement and test new processes and initiatives across accommodation, education, employment and substance misuse treatment. This is in addition to fulfilling the Government’s manifesto commitments around increasing the number of DWP prison work coaches and development of the Prison Education Service focused on employment and skills. By supporting people into a job, a home and treatment for substance misuse, we can help them escape the vicious cycle of crime and prevent victims.

Our reforms to probation, starting with the launch of the new unified Probation Service for England and Wales on 26 June this year, also aim to strengthen our approach to reducing reoffending. It will strengthen how offenders are supervised and supported to desist from offending through investment in more probation officers and better learning and development. It will improve how we address offending behaviour by bringing together and investing in behavioural change programmes and interventions. Probation regions will also be able to refer offenders to a range of organisations commissioned to deliver specialist rehabilitative services, such as accommodation support, education, training and employment, and support to address other issues such as access to mental health services or managing complex family relationships. 110 contracts are now in place across England and Wales to deliver these services from 26 June.

Together these important steps demonstrate this Government’s commitment to build back safer, fairer and stronger by reducing crime and tackling reoffending to protect the public.