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: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to appoint a Victims Commissioner.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
A recruitment campaign to appoint the next Commissioner is underway and it is right that the new Lord Chancellor looks at this carefully. We hope to announce the outcome of the campaign as soon as possible.
At both Ministerial and official level, we engage with the victims’ sector on a regular basis to ensure the voices of victims and witnesses are heard while the appointment of the next Victims’ Commissioner is being made.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the (1) Cabinet Office, and (2) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, have made of the impact of the UK not becoming a party to the Lugano Convention.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Government is committed to ensuring cross-border legal disputes can be resolved smoothly, in the interests of families, consumers and businesses both in the UK and across Europe. From 1st January this year cross border disputes are managed through the domestic arrangements of the UK and EU / EFTA states as well as our international agreements under the Hague Conventions.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to lay regulations under the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 to enable the provisions of that Act to be implemented.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government intends to bring the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 into force in July 2019 and will lay the necessary regulations and other secondary legislation before Parliament in time to achieve this.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will decide the timetabling of the legislation proposed in their recent response to their consultation on the guardianship of the property and affairs of missing persons.
Answered by Lord Faulks
My Department is working to prepare the legislation necessary to create the new legal status of guardian of the property and affairs of a missing person. We are grateful for the continued assistance in this work of the charity, Missing People, and its pro bono lawyers, Clifford Chance. We will bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time allows.