David Mackintosh
Main Page: David Mackintosh (Conservative - Northampton South)Department Debates - View all David Mackintosh's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(8 years, 2 months ago)
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Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)
12. What progress his Department is making on plans to ensure that more prisoners obtain employment after release.
David Mackintosh (Northampton South) (Con)
13. What progress his Department is making on plans to ensure that more prisoners obtain employment after release.
Andrew Selous
My hon. Friend has raised an important point. We need to help prisoners to take responsibility for their lives, and that includes helping them to find legal work in order to support their families. I believe that the Prime Minister’s announcement that we will measure employment outcomes for prisoners will drive further progress.
David Mackintosh
Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the work of Goodwill Solutions in Northampton, which is running a “back to work” programme that is helping ex-offenders, homeless people, those with substance dependencies, and vulnerable young people to secure training and employment in the logistics sector?
Andrew Selous
I certainly welcome the work of Goodwill Solutions in my hon. Friend’s constituency, but the truth is that we do not have labour shortages only in the logistics area. We have them in construction, engineering, catering and many other areas, which is why I am very ambitious about increasing offender employment.