Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department takes to help offenders find employment following their release from prison.

Increasing the number of prison leavers who get a steady job or access training after leaving custody is a priority for our department. This is because we know employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. The proportion of prison leavers released from custody employed at six months from their release has risen by almost two thirds to 23% between April 2021 and March 2022, but we will do more.

The Prisons Strategy White Paper includes rolling out dedicated Prison Employment Leads in 92 prisons to match prisoners to jobs. In those same prisons, we are rolling out Employment Hubs, where prisoners can access job opportunities and support writing applications and CVs.

We are also rolling out prison Employment Advisory Boards to link prisons with local industry to help prisoner leavers meet the needs of the local labour market.

Finally, New Futures Network, the prison service’s network of employment brokers, works with over 400 employers to find prisoners work in prison, on Release on Temporary Licence and on release.