Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact on rehabilitation and reoffending of constraints on the ability of former offenders to obtain insurance cover.

Insurers use their experience to undertake an assessment of risk to set the terms and price at which they will offer insurance cover, based on the likelihood of the individual making a claim and the potential cost of that claim. An ‘unspent’ conviction can be an indicator of risk that some, but not all, insurers use as a rating factor. The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers.

However, the Government is working to improve the rehabilitation of offenders to cut crime. In the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill the government is reforming the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 to reduce the time a conviction needs to be disclosed. This action will both reduce the barriers to individuals with previous convictions gaining employment and reduce the numbers that have to declare convictions to insurance companies.