Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to rollout community payback by offenders.

Community Payback is the term used to describe any work done as part of an unpaid work requirement made by the Courts. Unpaid work is the main punitive disposal for community-based sentences, its purpose is to punish offenders for breaking the law whilst also allowing individuals to make reparations to their local communities for their crimes.

This Government is investing £93m so that communities can benefit from a record-breaking 8 million hours of impactful and demanding unpaid work each year. This funding will allow us to rejuvenate our unpaid work offer, by recruiting additional staff and refreshing and expanding our transport fleet. We are working with large charities and organisations, Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities to make sure that communities have their say in how unpaid work should be used in their area. This includes placements with organisations such as the Canal and River Trust and Forestry England. Other national initiatives will include a tree planting project, helping to support the Government’s wider sustainability objectives.

As part of this we are consulting a range of further potential voluntary sector partners to identify unpaid work placements that will develop work ready skills and offer vocational training, helping offenders to integrate into society and promote future desistance from crime.