Oral Answers to Questions

James Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to reduce reoffending.

[Dr James Davies (Vale of Clwyd) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to reduce reoffending.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Dominic Raab)]

The reoffending rate for prisoners who leave prison has fallen by nine percentage points—from 51% to 42%—since 2010. The rate of prison leavers who secure a job within six months has risen by almost two thirds in the past year alone.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was up in Blackpool last week to announce a £300 million fund that local authorities can access to prevent youth offending. It is called the turnaround project and is targeted at around 20,000 children. The idea is to get them into sports, whether that is boxing or martial arts, or indeed into drama or other positive outlets. By doing that, we can then wraparound the pastoral care and work with the law enforcement agencies. That will not just give those children the opportunity to take a springboard into school, training and, ultimately, work, but keep our streets safer for communities.

[Dr Davies]

My right hon. Friend is right to focus on helping offenders to find work post release, which is crucial to reduce reoffending. Will he update the House on progress made in that respect?

[Dominic Raab]

In the last year alone, we have seen a step change in respect of offenders being in work within six months of release from prison; the number has increased by two thirds. The prisons White Paper sets out the strategy. We are rolling out the chairs of employment advisory boards and now have chairs for 48 out of 91 prisons. We have also stood up 29 of the employment hubs in our prisons. Those are the links between prison governors and local businesses that will get offenders into work and to stay on the straight and narrow.