Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending among people released on licence.

This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving prison leavers, including those released early on licence, the tools they need to turn their backs on crime. To do that, we will increase prisoners’ access to purposeful activity, such as education, deliver pre-release plans for all those leaving custody and ensure that people leave prison with a job and the skills needed to lead law abiding lives.

We are determined to help ensure our hard-working probation staff can continue to deliver high-quality supervision, including to those released on licence, and focus their time on those cases which need most attention. We need to increase the size of the workforce and are committed to bringing in at least 1,000 new trainee probation officers across the 2024/25 financial year.