Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Caulfield and Sam Gyimah

Tuesday 31st October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

5. What progress the Government have made on the implementation of the Farmer review published on 10 August 2017.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Sam Gyimah)]

The family is the most effective resettlement agency that we have. That is a view shared by the prisons inspectorate, the probation service and Ofsted. The time to work on those relationships is from the moment an offender is sentenced to jail. To leave it longer is to leave it too late. That is why I welcome the excellent review by Lord Farmer, and we are working to implement all his recommendations.

[Maria Caulfield]

Figures from the Farmer review show that inmates who receive regular family visits are 39% less likely to reoffend. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to enable more family visits to happen in our prisons?

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Reoffending rates among people who have family contact are a lot lower than those for other offenders. We are working to implement all of Lord Farmer’s review over time. I will be meeting her and a number of colleagues to discuss our progress on this later.