Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the benefits to business of employing prison-leavers and to support businesses to do so.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed in increasing the number of prison leavers securing employment on release. The proportion of prison leavers who were employed six months after release more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%. Meanwhile, the proportion who were in employment six weeks after their release almost doubled in the same period, from 9.8% to 19.4%
We know that supporting businesses and raising awareness around the benefits of employing prison leavers are integral in continuing this upward trend.
New Futures Network is the prison service’s specialist employment team that supports businesses to fill skills gaps and prisoners to find employment on release. They use a dedicated website and social media pages to inform the public, including employers, about the opportunities to recruit from prisons. New Futures Network brokers three main types of partnership between prisons and employers:
To increase awareness across sectors facing labour market shortages, in October 2022 New Futures Network began running a series of ‘Unlocking Potential’ recruitment drives in prisons. The most recent event in October 2023, Unlocking Hospitality, saw around 65 events held across 40 sites, attended by 40 employers and 885 prisoners. This resulted in 184 interviews and 45 job offers to date.
We also know that employers want to hear from other employers when talking about the benefits of employing prison leavers. Employment Advisory Boards bring together experienced professionals across the private and third sectors and have been established across 93 prisons. Chaired by business leaders, these are a forum to collaborate with leadership teams within prisons, to support them in creating a positive culture of employment.
Similarly, we continue to work with the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR), an HMPPS-led group currently chaired by Greggs. This is a collective of local and national employers that provide training and employment opportunities for ex-offenders, including Greene King, Timpson, Marks & Spencer, Willmott Dixon and many more.
New Futures Network have also partnered with the Department for Education to raise awareness by featuring an employing prison leavers item on their business webpages: Find training and employment schemes for your business (education.gov.uk).
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase participation of young girls in competitive sports (a) at and (b) outside school.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting women and girls’ sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation across all sports, at every level. In our new Sport Strategy ‘Get Active’, we set an ambitious target of getting 1 million more active children and 1.25 million more active women by 2030.
We are determined to maximise the potential of women’s sport in the future so we can sustain that pipeline of talent and expand it. We are investing over £600 million in school sport across the next two academic years todrive up the quality of physical education and ensure girls have equal access to opportunities to play sport.
The School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. In the 2022/23 academic year, the country-wide network of 450 School Games Organisers provided over 2.2 million opportunities for children to take part. The introduction of new equality criteria to the School Games Mark encourages and recognises schools providing equal access to girls and boys.
Outside of school, we are investing over £300 million in grassroots football and multi-sport facilities across the UK by 2025 which will further support women and girls accessing sport. The new £30 million Lioness Futures fund will deliver approximately 30 new state of the art 3G pitches at sites supporting women’s and girls’ teams across England. Projects in England will need to have a clear women and girls plan to receive this funding and will be monitored regularly to ensure the objectives are met.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will hold discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) HM Prison and Probation Service on steps to help increase the number of ex offenders in employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The proportion of prison leavers in employment six months after their release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023.
Ministers and officials across government already work together on measures to support ex-offenders into work and reduce reoffending. A National Partnership Agreement between Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, and Department for Work and Pensions sets out how we jointly support prisoners in custody to prepare for employment on release and ensure prison leavers continue to access support in the community to obtain work.
Prison Employment Hubs have increased in number providing a space where offenders can get much needed support into work. DWP provides around 200 Prison Work Coaches who work alongside Prison Employment Leads and other prison services to provide employment and training support before release. The New Futures Network and DWP’s National Employment and Partnership Team broker relationships with employers helping them understand the advantages to their business of employing ex-offenders. The Government has also recently changed rehabilitation periods to help reduce barriers to employment for ex-offenders.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the provision of safe housing to women leaving prison on levels of (a) reoffending and (b) safety of those women.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We remain committed to the Female Offender Strategy, which provides the framework to deliver better outcomes for female offenders, recognising the distinct needs of this cohort. We are working across MoJ, HMPPS and wider government to provide a gender-specific, trauma-informed service and reduce reoffending. This includes £15m investment until 2025 in community services to deliver wraparound support to women in the criminal justice system, acknowledging the complex array of issues female offenders particularly face.
Effective resettlement of prison leavers is a core part of our efforts to reduce reoffending. This includes making sure women have a home, family links where appropriate, access to healthcare, a job or further education, and/or access to benefits.
Evidence shows that prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50% more likely to reoffend compared to those with settled accommodation. That is why we have developed the transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS3), which provides up to 12 weeks accommodation on release from prison. We are ensuring that a minimum 10% of beds delivered through CAS3 are allocated to women in women-only properties so that they feel safe, especially those with backgrounds of abuse.
To provide continuity of healthcare, we are recruiting Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide who will liaise between prisons, probation, and local health partners. We are also expanding the availability of secure video calling, so prison leavers can meet community providers before release. In addition, the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England, published in February 2023, sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care, including substance misuse and mental health treatment, that improves health outcomes for people after their release. NHS England’s continued investment in their RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with mental health and substance misuse needs, as well as other vulnerabilities.
In terms of employment, in every women’s prison we have recruited dedicated Prison Employment Leads (PELs) to match prisoners to jobs on release, rolled out onsite Employment Hubs, recruited ID and Banking administrators, and established Employment Advisory Boards (EABs) which link prisons with industry advisors. Lastly, the New Futures Network, who works with over 400 organisations to source employment opportunities and provide jobs training, have a dedicated broker for the women’s estate.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to (a) provide women with jobs on leaving prison and (b) help women to transition into work.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We remain committed to the Female Offender Strategy, which provides the framework to deliver better outcomes for female offenders, recognising the distinct needs of this cohort. We are working across MoJ, HMPPS and wider government to provide a gender-specific, trauma-informed service and reduce reoffending. This includes £15m investment until 2025 in community services to deliver wraparound support to women in the criminal justice system, acknowledging the complex array of issues female offenders particularly face.
Effective resettlement of prison leavers is a core part of our efforts to reduce reoffending. This includes making sure women have a home, family links where appropriate, access to healthcare, a job or further education, and/or access to benefits.
Evidence shows that prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50% more likely to reoffend compared to those with settled accommodation. That is why we have developed the transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS3), which provides up to 12 weeks accommodation on release from prison. We are ensuring that a minimum 10% of beds delivered through CAS3 are allocated to women in women-only properties so that they feel safe, especially those with backgrounds of abuse.
To provide continuity of healthcare, we are recruiting Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide who will liaise between prisons, probation, and local health partners. We are also expanding the availability of secure video calling, so prison leavers can meet community providers before release. In addition, the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England, published in February 2023, sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care, including substance misuse and mental health treatment, that improves health outcomes for people after their release. NHS England’s continued investment in their RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with mental health and substance misuse needs, as well as other vulnerabilities.
In terms of employment, in every women’s prison we have recruited dedicated Prison Employment Leads (PELs) to match prisoners to jobs on release, rolled out onsite Employment Hubs, recruited ID and Banking administrators, and established Employment Advisory Boards (EABs) which link prisons with industry advisors. Lastly, the New Futures Network, who works with over 400 organisations to source employment opportunities and provide jobs training, have a dedicated broker for the women’s estate.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to provide community based substance misuse and mental health services for women leaving prison.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We remain committed to the Female Offender Strategy, which provides the framework to deliver better outcomes for female offenders, recognising the distinct needs of this cohort. We are working across MoJ, HMPPS and wider government to provide a gender-specific, trauma-informed service and reduce reoffending. This includes £15m investment until 2025 in community services to deliver wraparound support to women in the criminal justice system, acknowledging the complex array of issues female offenders particularly face.
Effective resettlement of prison leavers is a core part of our efforts to reduce reoffending. This includes making sure women have a home, family links where appropriate, access to healthcare, a job or further education, and/or access to benefits.
Evidence shows that prison leavers without settled accommodation are almost 50% more likely to reoffend compared to those with settled accommodation. That is why we have developed the transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS3), which provides up to 12 weeks accommodation on release from prison. We are ensuring that a minimum 10% of beds delivered through CAS3 are allocated to women in women-only properties so that they feel safe, especially those with backgrounds of abuse.
To provide continuity of healthcare, we are recruiting Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide who will liaise between prisons, probation, and local health partners. We are also expanding the availability of secure video calling, so prison leavers can meet community providers before release. In addition, the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England, published in February 2023, sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care, including substance misuse and mental health treatment, that improves health outcomes for people after their release. NHS England’s continued investment in their RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with mental health and substance misuse needs, as well as other vulnerabilities.
In terms of employment, in every women’s prison we have recruited dedicated Prison Employment Leads (PELs) to match prisoners to jobs on release, rolled out onsite Employment Hubs, recruited ID and Banking administrators, and established Employment Advisory Boards (EABs) which link prisons with industry advisors. Lastly, the New Futures Network, who works with over 400 organisations to source employment opportunities and provide jobs training, have a dedicated broker for the women’s estate.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what commercial companies were involved in working with HM Prison Service to train prisoners for employment as of 18 July 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As of 18 July, 87 organisations were actively involved in working with HM Prison & Probation Service in training prisoners.
The New Futures Network is the team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for working with businesses to secure jobs for prison leavers. Information about the commercial relationships it has developed is available at this link: New-End-of-year-sales-21-22.pdf (newfuturesnetwork.gov.uk).
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department takes to help offenders find employment following their release from prison.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Increasing the number of prison leavers who get a steady job or access training after leaving custody is a priority for our department. This is because we know employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. The proportion of prison leavers released from custody employed at six months from their release has risen by almost two thirds to 23% between April 2021 and March 2022, but we will do more.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper includes rolling out dedicated Prison Employment Leads in 92 prisons to match prisoners to jobs. In those same prisons, we are rolling out Employment Hubs, where prisoners can access job opportunities and support writing applications and CVs.
We are also rolling out prison Employment Advisory Boards to link prisons with local industry to help prisoner leavers meet the needs of the local labour market.
Finally, New Futures Network, the prison service’s network of employment brokers, works with over 400 employers to find prisoners work in prison, on Release on Temporary Licence and on release.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2022 to Question 144920 on Offenders: Employment, what steps he is taking to increase the number of prisoners finding work following their release from the worst performing prisons.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It is a priority for this government to increase the proportion of prison leavers in employment following release. We will deliver a presumption in favour of offering offenders the chance to work in prison, on Release on Temporary Licence and on release.
We will hold Governors to account for the opportunities and outcomes to participate in work related activity they achieve for prisoners. In return, we will deliver a new digital tool to inform governors and commissioners about progress and what interventions are working in their prison.
We are also rolling out dedicated Employment Advisors in all resettlement prisons, to improve how we identify candidates and match them to jobs. This will mean that there is a named person in those establishments accountable for improving these outcomes. Alongside this, 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 and we plan to have a further 13 by the end of June.
Last month the government also announced that it would change the law so that prisoners are able to apply for apprenticeship opportunities in vital industries, including hospitality and construction.
Overall, we will publish an annual dashboard, showing performance against Key Performance Indicators, and league tables to increase transparency around prison performance.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will (a) list the spending programmes his Department devolves for administration to local government in England and other local spending bodies and (b) specify the value for each programme for every year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The table below sets out funding DLUHC core department devolved in 2021-22. Future years funding will be published in the usual way. The Local Government Finance Settlement can be found using this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2021-to-2022.
Programme Name | Value 2021-22 (£m) |
AFFORDABLE HOMES PROGRAMME | 215.0 |
BETTER CARE FUND PROGRAMME SUPPORT | 0.3 |
BICHESTER | 4.6 |
BRENT CROSS | 29.1 |
BROWNFIELD HOUSING FUND | 157.8 |
BROWNFIELD LAND RELEASE FUND | 64.4 |
BUILDING SAFETY REMEDIATION | 393.0 |
CHANGING FUTURES | 16.0 |
CHANGING PLACES | 0.3 |
COASTAL COMMUNITIES FUND | 0.1 |
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS | 22.5 |
COMMUNITY HOUSING FUND | 6.0 |
COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP FUND - COF | 1.4 |
COVID-19 CLINICALLY & EXTREMELY VULNERABLE | 61.3 |
CUSTOM BUILD LAND DUTY | 0.1 |
DATA IMPROVEMENT SHARE OUTCOME FUND | 4.1 |
DIGITAL PLANNING REFORM | 1.9 |
DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS (N) | 573.0 |
DOMESTIC ABUSE | 1.8 |
EAST BANK | 51.6 |
EBBSFLEET DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION | 19.0 |
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | 5.2 |
ESTATE REGEN FUND | 14.2 |
FAITH, RACE AND HATE GRANT SCHEME | 0.4 |
FLOOD RECOVERY FRAMEWORK SCHEMES | 3.7 |
FREEPORTS | 3.7 |
FUTURE HIGH STREET FUND | 257.5 |
GETTING BUILDING FUND | 449.9 |
GRT EDUCATION PROGRAMME | 1.0 |
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL PROGRAMME | 1.0 |
HOME OF 2030 | 0.4 |
HOMELESSNESS | 378.8 |
HONG KONG BRITISH NATIONAL OVERSEAS (HKBNOS) WELCOME PROGRAMME | 6.5 |
HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (CORE) | 37.9 |
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES | 17.7 |
INTERFAITH NETWORK FOR THE UK | 0.3 |
LEP CORE FUNDING | 19.1 |
LESSONS FROM AUSCHWITZ UNIVERSITIES | 0.1 |
LEVELLING UP FUND | 103.2 |
LOCAL DIGITAL COLLABORATION | 12.4 |
LOCAL GROWTH INVESTMENT FUNDS | 347.5 |
LOCAL LAND CHARGES | 0.1 |
LOCAL RESILIENCE FORUMS (LRFS) | 8.1 |
MAYORAL CAPACITY FUND | 9.0 |
MIDLANDS ENGINE | 2.5 |
MODERN PLANNING SOFTWARE | 6.8 |
NCTT | 0.3 |
NEAR NEIGHBOURS | 1.0 |
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING | 7.9 |
NEW DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS | 2.1 |
NEW HOMES BONUS | 622.3 |
NORTHERN POWERHOUSE | 0.5 |
OXFORD-CAMBRIDGE ARC | 1.0 |
OXFORDSHIRE HOUSING | 40.0 |
PARTNERSHIPS FOR PEOPLE AND PLACE | 0.7 |
PFI HOUSING | 138.7 |
PLANNING ADVISORY SERVICE (PAS) | 0.7 |
PLANNING DELIVERY FUND | 5.3 |
PLANNING REFORM | 2.8 |
REDCAR AND CLEVELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL | 3.7 |
REGIONAL CONTROL CENTRES | 4.2 |
REMEMBERING SREBRENICA | 0.3 |
REOPENING HIGH STREETS SAFELY | 26.8 |
RIGHT TO BUY RECEIPTS | 12.3 |
ROUGH SLEEPING | 325.4 |
ROUGH SLEEPING COVID RESPONSE | 40.3 |
SCHOOLS LINKING | 0.2 |
SECRETARIAT FOR THE INDEPENDENT ANTISEMITISM ADVISER | 0.1 |
SHIELDING SUPPORT | 40.8 |
SSI STEELWORKS | 25.7 |
STDC - TEESWORKS WORKS | 11.1 |
STRENGTHENING FAITH INSTITUTIONS | 0.5 |
STRONGER TOWNS CAPACITY FUNDING | 162.4 |
SUPPORTED HOUSING OVERSIGHT PILOTS | 2.4 |
SUPPORTING FAMILIES | 163.7 |
TENANT FEES ACT 2019 | 0.8 |
THAMES ESTUARY | 1.5 |
TOWNS FUND | 0.5 |
TRANSPORT FOR EBBSFLEET | 1.7 |
UK COMMUNITY RENEWAL FUND | 122.5 |
VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR FUNDING FOR ROUGH SLEEPING AND HOMELESSNESS | 2.7 |
VOLUNTARY RIGHT TO BUY | 1.4 |
WAKING WATCH | 0.4 |
WESTERN GATEWAY CORE FUNDING | 1.0 |
WINDRUSH | 0.7 |
WOMENS AID | 0.3 |
YOUTH HOMELESSNESS | 0.6 |