Prisons: Careers Guidance Debate

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Department: Scotland Office

Prisons: Careers Guidance

Lord Faulks Excerpts
Wednesday 31st January 2018

(6 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Keen of Elie Portrait Lord Keen of Elie
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I do not have those figures immediately to hand, but I am content to write to the noble Lord, outlining such figures as we have in that regard, and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Lord Faulks Portrait Lord Faulks (Con)
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Would the Minister agree with me that one of the encouraging features about jobs and careers for prisoners is the number of times employers from the private sector engage prisoners, while they are still in prison, who turn out to be satisfactory employees who then continue that employment when they leave?

Lord Keen of Elie Portrait Lord Keen of Elie
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My Lords, in response to the question from my noble friend, I agree that there have been notable successes in this area, and we should appreciate the work done by some particular employers in this regard. There is one in particular where present indications are that something like 10% of their workforce are former inmates. If we can encourage other employers to take this step forward, we can help to reduce recidivism in the prison population.