Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 programme in ensuring prison leavers find settled accommodation following up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HMPPS Community Accommodation Service (CAS) provides transitional accommodation via three tiers of support, each focused on a different cohort. CAS3 was launched in July 2021, providing up to 12 weeks’ guaranteed accommodation on release for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness, with support to move on to settled accommodation. Initially implemented in five probation regions (Yorkshire and the Humber; North West; Greater Manchester; East of England; and Kent, Surrey and Sussex), the service was rolled out to Wales in June 2022. From April 2023, the CAS3 service was operating in all probation regions in England and Wales. By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of their release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions versus non-CAS3 regions.
We are undertaking an evaluation of the impact of CAS3 on offenders’ obtaining settled accommodation and employment, and on re-offending outcomes. The report is due to be published in the autumn.
The National Audit Office’s report “Improving resettlement support for prison leavers to reduce reoffending”, published in May 2023, looks at the impact of CAS3 on accommodation outcomes during the period up to February 2023. It can be accessed via the following link:
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the built prison estate to account for the estimated population increases to 2035 and beyond.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, the largest prison build programme since the Victorian era, ensuring the right conditions are in place to rehabilitate prisoners, helping to cut crime and protect the public. These places are being delivered through the construction of six new prisons, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and temporary accommodation. To date, we have delivered c.5,900 of these places and are on track to have delivered c.10,000 by the end of 2025.
In October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced funding of up to £30 million to start acquiring land that will be required for future prison capacity.
The Department has taken a number of steps to identify land for potential prison sites. We have commissioned a property agent to search the market for land in the North West and South East, our areas of greatest forecast demand for prison places; officials have started discussions with significant private and public sector landowners and continue to assess a shortlist of sites for planning risk and strategic and operational fit. In parallel, officials are engaged in strategic conversations with local and regional leaders to identify areas where communities would welcome the economic and employment benefits of a new prison.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the state pension age to (a) 67 in 2026-28 and (b) 68 in 2044-46 on levels of pensioner poverty.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty. In 2021/22 there were 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10.
As evaluations of the impacts of State Pension age rises have been retrospective it is not possible to robustly and comparably estimate future impacts of changes in State Pension age on pensioner poverty levels. The March 2023 State Pension age Review published our analysis of the impact of previous SPa changes. This shows the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 led to a temporary increase in the absolute poverty rate for 65-year-olds with those affected lifted out of poverty once their new State Pension age was reached. The analysis also found positive employment effects from increasing the State Pension age from 65 to 66, as people responded by working longer and on average earned more than if they had retired and claimed State Pension.
State Pension age Review 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a) tax credits only, (b) income-based jobseekers allowance, (c) employment support allowance and tax credits, (d) income support, (e) housing benefit only, other than people in supported accommodation or temporary accommodation and (f) housing benefit and tax credits only his Department plans to send a migration notice to in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Move to UC Notifications (household) Aut-2023 | 24/25 |
JSA income based | 20,000 |
ESA income based (and Child Tax Credits) | 90,000 |
Income Support | 110,000 |
Tax Credit & Housing Benefit | 120,000 |
Tax Credit only | 10,000 |
Housing Benefit only | 100,000 |
Total | 440,000 |
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of people released from prison went on to reoffend, what number of reoffences were committed on average, what was the total number of reoffences, and what was the total number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length for (1) men, and (2) women, for the most recent year that figures are available.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending to keep our communities safe. Between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.6% to 24.4%.
Helping prison leavers to secure accommodation, employment, and substance misuse treatment on release is essential for rehabilitation and can significantly reduce their likelihood of reoffending. We are therefore investing in a range of interventions including delivering our temporary accommodation service so that prison-leavers have a stable base on release, offering more offenders the chance to work in prison and expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living wings so that we can support prisoners off drugs and into recovery.
Further, we are seeking to introduce a presumption against short sentences which we know have significantly higher reoffending rates than suspended and community sentences.
The answer can be found in the tables below.
Table 1: Reoffending rate, number of reoffences and average number of reoffences per reoffender for offenders released from custody, male and female (adult), April 2020 – March 2021.
| April 2020 - March 2021 |
Female offenders |
|
Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) | 44.1% |
Average number of reoffences per reoffender | 5.89 |
Number of reoffences | 8,686 |
|
|
Male offenders |
|
Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) | 37.5% |
Average number of reoffences per reoffender | 4.46 |
Number of reoffences | 72,549 |
|
|
All adult offenders |
|
Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) | 38.0% |
Average number of reoffences per reoffender | 4.58 |
Number of reoffences | 81,235 |
Table 2: Number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length, male (adult), April 2020 – March 2021
| April 2020 - March 2021 |
Less than or equal to 6 months |
|
Number of reoffenders | 8,902 |
|
|
More than 6 months to less than 12 months | |
Number of reoffenders | 2,170 |
|
|
12 months to less than 2 years |
|
Number of reoffenders | 2,176 |
|
|
2 years to less than 4 years |
|
Number of reoffenders | 1,995 |
|
|
4 years to 10 years |
|
Number of reoffenders | 958 |
|
|
More than 10 years |
|
Number of reoffenders | 38 |
|
|
Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) |
|
Number of reoffenders | 13 |
|
|
Mandatory Life (MLP) |
|
Number of reoffenders | 8 |
|
|
Other Life [Note 1] |
|
Number of reoffenders | 6 |
|
|
All male adult reoffenders |
|
Number of reoffenders | 16,266 |
Table 3: Number of reoffenders by custodial sentence length, female (adult), April 2020 – March 2021
| April 2020 – March 2021 | |
Less than or equal to 6 months |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 1,056 | |
|
| |
More than 6 months to less than 12 months | ||
Number of reoffenders | 212 | |
|
| |
12 months to less than 2 years |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 113 | |
|
| |
2 years to less than 4 years |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 79 | |
|
| |
4 years to 10 years |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 14 | |
|
| |
More than 10 years |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 0 | |
|
| |
Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 0 | |
|
| |
Mandatory Life (MLP) |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 0 | |
|
| |
Other Life [Note 1] |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 0 | |
|
| |
All female adult reoffenders |
| |
Number of reoffenders | 1,474 | |
|
|
|
[Note 1] 'Other life' category includes discretionary and automatic life sentences.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of spending on technical consultancy services on his Department since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The use of External Assistance is justified where it does not make economic sense for the Department to maintain all the specialist skills needed permanently in house. In many cases sourcing this expertise on a temporary, contractual basis can offer greater value for money than direct, permanent employment.
The department does not conduct assessments of this nature. Programme success is measured against delivery of the expected outcomes within the agreed time and cost parameters for that programme.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of spending on organisation and change management consultancy services on his Department since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The use of External Assistance is justified where it does not make economic sense for the Department to maintain all the specialist skills needed permanently in house. In many cases sourcing this expertise on a temporary, contractual basis can offer greater value for money than direct, permanent employment.
The department does not conduct assessments of this nature. Programme success is measured against delivery of the expected outcomes within the agreed time and cost parameters for that specific programme.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of spending on strategy consultancy services on his Department since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The use of External Assistance is justified where it does not make economic sense for the Department to maintain all the specialist skills needed permanently in house. In many cases sourcing this expertise on a temporary, contractual basis can offer greater value for money than direct, permanent employment.
The department does not conduct assessments of this nature. Programme success is measured against delivery of the expected outcomes within the agreed time and cost parameters for that specific programme.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate for individuals serving a custodial sentence for burglary is.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The proven reoffending rate for the October to December 2021 offender cohort (the latest available) who had an index offence of burglary and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 48.3%.
This Government is committed to tackling reoffending and keeping our communities safe. We are investing to address reoffending through a number of initiatives including:
As a result, 5796 prison leavers have been supported through our temporary accommodation service between 1 July 2021 and 31 March 2023, while the proportion of prison leavers in employment six months after release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023 from 14% to over 30%.
Between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.6% to 24.4%.