Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Accepted
Paragraph: 138
Employment has been shown to reduce reoffending.
Recommendation
Employment has been shown to reduce reoffending. Getting prisoners into employment therefore makes economic sense for society, easing the current burden on prisons, and allowing former prisoners to re-enter society. The low number of prisoners finding long-term employment following their release from prison is stark. The Ministry of Justice must improve its vocational skills offer to prisoners, ensuring that it is preparing prisoners for the current job market with qualifications that meet industry standards.
Government response summary AI-generated
By April 2023, all resettlement prisons will have an employment hub in place, providing prisoners with information about job opportunities and support with applications.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
138
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
We accept this recommendation. We are changing the legislation to enable apprenticeships for prisoners to start in the autumn. In addition, we will be establishing an Employability Innovation Fund to deliver new sector specific skills training and work experience for prisoners. In the longer term, through our market engagement activity, we have been engaging with a range of prospective providers, with a view to broadening and diversifying the future curriculum offer, including vocational qualifications. We have reinforced the need for industry standard qualifications to the market, and we will further develop this once we know the capabilities of future providers.
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