Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they keep a record of all charities (1) working with prisoners, and (2) working with former prisoners helping them to readjust after release.

The Ministry of Justice maintains a contract register to record and report against all suppliers, including charities, who provide goods or services to the Department on a contracted basis. Details of awarded contracts with a minimum value of £10,000 or more are published on Government Contracts Finder.

All HMPPS contracts and grants, in which providers work with prisoners and former prisoners, including those awarded to charities are recorded on the Department’s contract management system and the Government Grants Information System (GGIS).

Volunteering arrangements do not operate under contract as there is no financial consideration. For unpaid work placements, these are formalised through Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) which are signed by both the placement provider and the Ministry of Justice. These arrangements are not held on the contract register; however a list of MoUs is maintained.

The provision of services to prison leavers through charities or other Government Department/Local Authority contracts was previously a blind spot in which no formal agreement was in place as these services are delivered at no costs to the Ministry of Justice. This has been rectified through the development of a collaboration agreement, which is a relatively new initiative and we are working with regions to develop these and collate the information centrally to enable the tracking of these arrangements through Commissioning and Contract Management teams.