Prisoners: Early Release Scheme

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. He is completely right that continuation of care through NHS Reconnect is so important. In my office about two hours ago, we were having a meeting on this exact subject. I was fortunate to spend two days working in HMP Preston, following the officers around, and it was very clear to me that there were a lot of men in that prison who were very ill and that what they needed was the care of our fantastic NHS colleagues.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the Probation Service needs all the help it can get to focus entirely on preventing further criminal acts by people who have been discharged from prison? Somehow the Probation Service seems to have lost some of its sharp focus on that, and preventing recidivism should be its key task.

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

When 80% of offending is reoffending, something is clearly not working. I will give the noble Lord an example. When I was opening a probation delivery unit in Preston, there was a man standing outside with a sleeping bag around his neck. It was very clear that if he was to spend the night on a park bench, he was probably going to reoffend straightaway. There is an awful lot of work to do, but the focus needs to be on addressing people’s mental health, their addiction, accommodation and employment needs.