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• Governors to be given control of education, tailoring it to prisoners’ needs
• Offenders to receive training designed to meet local labour market requirements
• New vocational training route – the Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway – will offer guaranteed jobs on release
• New Futures Network will match prisons to employers to cut £15 billion cost of reoffending
• Call on employers to shift attitudes ‘from shop floor to boardroom’ as Government commits to employ ex-offenders

The Education and Employment strategy sets out new measures to boost prisoners’ skills while in custody and improve their chances of securing work on release. This will help to cut the £15 billion annual cost of reoffending as ex-offenders in employment are up to 9 percentage points less likely to commit further crime. At present, however, just 17% of offenders are in P45 employment a year after release.

In this strategy, education and training, work in custody, and the availability of employment opportunities in the community are highlighted as the key areas of focus in achieving this.

Prison governors will be given the power to commission education and training programmes which provide offenders with the skills that real-world employers are looking for. This will be tailored to meet specific labour market requirements in the prison’s local economy. Meanwhile a vocational route, the Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway, will offer an alternative means of delivering training in custody which guarantees jobs on release.

There will also be a renewed focus on encouraging offenders to take up prison work, including piloting a new approach which better matches this activity to job opportunities in the local community. A consultation on how to get more risk-assessed prisoners out of their cells and into real workplaces, while on temporary licence, is also being launched today.

The strategy also sets out how offenders will be helped to find jobs on release – a major incentive to turn their backs on crime. A new body, the New Futures Network, will work side-by-side with employers to generate job opportunities.

Secretary of State David Gauke was announcing the strategy at HMP Isis today, after touring workshops at the prison which help inmates build the skills they need to secure jobs in future. He said:

I want prisons to be places of hope and aspiration that propel offenders into employment, and ultimately help to reduce the number of victims of crime in the future.

I believe passionately that through work, people can turn their backs on crime and start a new chapter in their lives. Today’s announcement should signal to offenders that we will reward good behaviour and hard work with opportunity, and to employers that ex-offenders can make a positive contribution to their workforce, society and the economy.

And the Secretary of State also called on employers to drive ‘cultural change’ within their organisations.

I want more employers to look past an offender’s conviction to their future potential.

We do that by working more closely with employers to open their eyes to the benefits of hiring ex-offenders…

…but this is not just about creating a path to employment from institutions to employers, but about creating cultural change from within organisations themselves.

I want employees, from the shop floor to the boardroom, to call out and challenge employers who turn a blind eye to attracting and representing ex-offenders in their workplace.

Fostering that cultural change within workplaces will send a message that says: we believe in what you can contribute now and in the future, not what you have done in the past.

And let me tell you why I believe now is the moment to seize the opportunity to do that.

I think the public mood has changed somewhat in recognising that when an offender comes out of prison we, as a society, don’t want them to return to crime and reoffend. The public expects them to get a job and become law-abiding citizens.

That makes good sense for society. It also makes good sense for business, in some ways, now more than ever.

Fred Sirieix, the maître d’hôtel of Channel 4’s First Dates restaurant, founded The Right Course programme which works with offenders in prison kitchens with a view to helping them secure work in catering and hospitality on release. He developed the scheme in conjunction with HMP Isis, the venue for today’s launch event. He said:

With The Right Course we are bringing industry skills and knowledge to the prisoners and creating supported employment pathways to help in their transition to work on their release.

We know that by securing meaningful work, this directly helps reduce the risk of reoffending. More than that, the course grows self-confidence in the learners and a sense of hope and purpose for the future.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey added:

We’re determined to help everyone who can to get into work, no matter what their background. I welcome this new employment strategy and its aim to boost prisoners’ skills.

Our dedicated Jobcentre Plus work coaches and See Potential campaign are supporting ex-offenders who are keen to leave their past behind, get into work and earn a steady wage. With over 800,000 job vacancies, there are plenty of opportunities and I’d encourage more businesses to work with us to help turn lives around.

Jane Gratton, head of business environment at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

Businesses are experiencing skills shortages at all levels in the workforce. We welcome this initiative, which gives an opportunity to train up offenders with those workplace skills that everyone needs to succeed.

Providing different ways of training for those in custody will help boost the talent pool in the workforce, and enable regional economies to thrive.

The Regulator of Social Housing reports that Pathfinder Housing Association, Kinsman Housing Limited and St Andrews Community Housing Association have been placed on its Grading under review list.

It notifies that at the time of the last Statistical Data Return, the three providers had fewer than 1,000 homes each and therefore do not have a current published regulatory judgement in accordance with our established procedures.

The regulator is currently investigating a matter regarding the providers’ compliance with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard. The outcome of the investigation will be confirmed in a regulatory notice, once completed.

The GUR list is available on the website.

Further information

1. The regulatory framework can also be found on the website.
2. The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.
3. The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

For more information visit the RSH website.

Our About the Regulator of Social Housing page has contact details for media enquiries.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.

The Solicitor General will meet with law students who help to give free legal advice to some of the most vulnerable people in the community through the law school’s involvement with nine Pro Bono initiatives.

One of these is the Streetlaw project, where students visit local schools to help raise legal awareness in their communities. The University also works with Flag DV, a Newbury-based charity, to offer advice to victims of domestic violence. Family Law students assist by conducting preliminary interviews and participating in subsequent interviews alongside the charity’s qualified volunteer advisers.

The Solicitor General said:

“It is fantastic to meet future lawyers offering advice through pro bono initiatives. Their work provides a vital contribution to our society and makes a real difference to those who receive it.

“I strongly encourage both students and established lawyers to explore what sort of pro bono help they might be able to provide, as it will enhance their careers and help them to maintain strong connections to their communities.”

Harry Stewart, President of the University of Reading Law Society said:

“The University of Reading Law Society is delighted that the Solicitor General will be meeting with students on Thursday. We are very excited to discuss some of our great participation in pro bono, public legal education and mooting. The Solicitor General’s visit will be very insightful, and we look forward to hearing about his own experiences in law and public legal education.”

The Solicitor, who superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), will also visit the CPS Thames and Chiltern office in Reading. He will meet with CPS staff from across the office to discuss their current work and upcoming priorities.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon the Prime Minister hosted Prime Minister Michel of Belgium for talks at Downing Street. They discussed the ongoing negotiations around the UK’s exit from the EU with the PM stressing that it was important to recognise the progress made thus far. She spoke about the agreements reached on vital issues such as citizens’ rights and the financial settlement and said that the agreement in principle of the implementation period had also given businesses much greater certainty. The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Michel looked forward to the June European Council.

The leaders spoke about global issues with the Prime Minister reiterating the UK’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal as the best way of neutralising the threat of a nuclear armed Iran. The leaders agreed that there are important things that the deal does not cover, but which need to be addressed such as ballistic missiles and Iran’s destabilising regional activity.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Michel spoke about the importance of multilateralism and of the rules based international system. They agreed that it was vital to restore the international norm that the use of chemical weapons can never be acceptable. The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Michel for the solidarity shown by Belgium following the chemical attack in Salisbury.

They discussed Russia, agreeing on the importance of continued international cooperation to tackle Russian destabilising activity in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Finally the leaders looked forward to the upcoming World Cup fixture between the England and Belgium football teams in June.