Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that the prisons system's new 'early release scheme' includes comprehensive support for prisoners with programs for (1) employment, (2) training and, (3) rehabilitation to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

Unlike the previous Government’s End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the change to the Standard Determinate Sentence release point has an eight week implementation period. This give probation and other agencies enough time to properly prepare release plans for offenders and ensure they are less likely to reoffend.

Ahead of implementation of the change to the Standard Determinate Sentence release point in September, we are working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions to ensure that prisons and Jobcentres are prepared to support temporarily higher volumes of prisoners approaching release as they transition into the community.

We will collectively ensure that relevant staff in prisons and Jobcentres will have the right data on prisoners who are being released, when and from which prisons. We will provide guidance and regular communications to those staff so they are aware of what actions to take.

This will ensure that prisoners are supported to prepare for release and supported in the community through the provision of bank accounts and ID, referrals to work programmes on release, arranging employment pre-release, and timely access to benefits where appropriate.

This work supports our aim to break the cycle of reoffending, and ensuring those who leave prison are supported as they transition into the community, helping to turn lives around and cut crime.