Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Rachel Maclean)]

I will be happy to look into that case. More broadly, the hon. Lady highlights the vital importance of the police and the CPS working closely together when they develop case files to go forward to the courts. That is the work we are doing in Operation Soteria. It is already resulting in more charges and more convictions for rape and serious sexual assault.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T7. I very much welcome the Department for Work and Pensions having a dedicated team in my constituency to ensure that ex-offenders find gainful employment. May I seek assurances from the Ministry of Justice that that collaborative work to rehabilitate ex-offenders will continue?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Rob Butler)]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, to which the short answer is yes, it absolutely will. It is a priority for this Government to increase the proportion of prison leavers in sustainable employment. We work closely with DWP to do that via its network of prison work coaches. We are also committed to working with the Department to improve access to universal credit.