Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made for future graduate recruitment into the prison workforce (including for the cohort graduating in 2025).

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

HMPPS recognises the value that graduate prison officers bring to prisons and is committed to continuing to invest in its pipeline of future leaders. Several options for talent schemes, including graduate programmes, are being explored.

The contract with the current graduate scheme provider will run until October 2026. All participants will continue to receive full support from our staff to thrive in their career with HMPPS.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they keep a record of all charities currently contracted by or receiving grants from (1) the Ministry of Justice or any of its agencies, or (2) HM Prison and Probation Service.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice maintains a contracts register to record and report against all suppliers, including charities, who provide goods or services to the Department on a contracted basis. Details of awarded contracts with a minimum value of £10,000 or more are published on Gov Contracts Finder.

All grants included those awarded to charities are recorded on the Government Grants Information System (GGIS). The Cabinet Office publishes grants data on gov.uk. Data is published one year in arrears, so data for 2022/23 was published in March 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they keep a record of all charities (1) working with prisoners, and (2) working with former prisoners helping them to readjust after release.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice maintains a contract register to record and report against all suppliers, including charities, who provide goods or services to the Department on a contracted basis. Details of awarded contracts with a minimum value of £10,000 or more are published on Government Contracts Finder.

All HMPPS contracts and grants, in which providers work with prisoners and former prisoners, including those awarded to charities are recorded on the Department’s contract management system and the Government Grants Information System (GGIS).

Volunteering arrangements do not operate under contract as there is no financial consideration. For unpaid work placements, these are formalised through Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) which are signed by both the placement provider and the Ministry of Justice. These arrangements are not held on the contract register; however a list of MoUs is maintained.

The provision of services to prison leavers through charities or other Government Department/Local Authority contracts was previously a blind spot in which no formal agreement was in place as these services are delivered at no costs to the Ministry of Justice. This has been rectified through the development of a collaboration agreement, which is a relatively new initiative and we are working with regions to develop these and collate the information centrally to enable the tracking of these arrangements through Commissioning and Contract Management teams.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify, and learn from, examples of best practice among charitable organisations that work with people in prisons, or help former prisoners readjust upon release.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations already play an enormous role in the vital work of preparing prisoners for release, and of helping them to adapt on their return to the community. 76% of current Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts – support to help people in custody or on probation to reduce their risk of re-offending – are led by VCSEs.

In addition, the CRS General Grant Scheme provides funding exclusively to third-sector services that promote rehabilitation and desistance, as well as those providing support to people with shared protected characteristics or shared experiences. To date, 32 grants have been awarded.

His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) also works with a wide range of charitable organisations to deliver prison education. These include the Shannon Trust, National Literacy Trust, Prisoners Education Trust, The Clink and St Giles. Many have been funded to develop their work through HMPPS grants or contracts.

To inform the development of a new generation of CRS contracts, national engagement events have been held throughout the design phase. These events have been well attended by third-sector organisations and have ensured that the providers’ voice is fully taken into account in designing the new specification. Resources have been dedicated to ensuring a role for third sector organisations in the new generation of contracts.

We are keen to evaluate activities, wherever possible, to learn from best practice, and we encourage charity providers themselves to evaluate their work. The ability to demonstrate good outcomes can help to support further bids for funding.

Many suppliers of Prison Education Services, of which there are over 400, are charitable organisations. Best practice is shared regularly with Heads of Education, Skills and Work in HMPPS, and information is regularly distributed from potential providers to all prison sites.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the capacity of charitable organisations working with people in prisons, or helping former prisoners readjust upon release, could be scaled.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations already play an enormous role in the vital work of preparing prisoners for release, and of helping them to adapt on their return to the community. 76% of current Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) contracts – support to help people in custody or on probation to reduce their risk of re-offending – are led by VCSEs.

In addition, the CRS General Grant Scheme provides funding exclusively to third-sector services that promote rehabilitation and desistance, as well as those providing support to people with shared protected characteristics or shared experiences. To date, 32 grants have been awarded.

His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) also works with a wide range of charitable organisations to deliver prison education. These include the Shannon Trust, National Literacy Trust, Prisoners Education Trust, The Clink and St Giles. Many have been funded to develop their work through HMPPS grants or contracts.

To inform the development of a new generation of CRS contracts, national engagement events have been held throughout the design phase. These events have been well attended by third-sector organisations and have ensured that the providers’ voice is fully taken into account in designing the new specification. Resources have been dedicated to ensuring a role for third sector organisations in the new generation of contracts.

We are keen to evaluate activities, wherever possible, to learn from best practice, and we encourage charity providers themselves to evaluate their work. The ability to demonstrate good outcomes can help to support further bids for funding.

Many suppliers of Prison Education Services, of which there are over 400, are charitable organisations. Best practice is shared regularly with Heads of Education, Skills and Work in HMPPS, and information is regularly distributed from potential providers to all prison sites.