On the 26th of November the Government published a new White Paper ‘get Britain working again’ with ambitious reforms to benefits and employment designed to achieve 80 per cent employment rate. The White Paper highlights that people in prison will be targeted with employment support, as part of the biggest shake up of the welfare state in a generation.
Responding to the white paper, CEO of Nacro Campbell Robb said:
“It is promising to see the Government recognise the potential of prisoner leavers to fill job vacancies, alongside the importance of supporting them to gain the skills and qualifications needed for local job markets, in its ‘get Britain working again’ white paper. At Nacro, we know prison-leavers can make highly committed, hard-working employees. In fact, over 80% of employers who’ve hired people with a criminal record have positively rated their reliability, motivation, and performance. We see the transformative effect of employment from the people we work with, as an essential cornerstone for rebuilding their lives after release.
“This process must start in prison, and so it’s vital that we ensure people in prison can develop industry-relevant skills and access work opportunities through day release and training and education in prison. The plan outlined in the White Paper to encourage employers to collaborate with prison and probation to ensure people are employment-ready upon release is welcome. Such measures are vital if the Government wants to successfully address the significant external barriers which prevent more prison-leavers from finding employment after release. Yet, this ambition remains a far cry from the current reality for many people in prison, many of whom spend up to 23 hours a day locked in their cells, with little access to opportunities to get the training and support they need to be work ready when they are released. In fact, fewer than half of all people in prison are currently engaged in education or work.
“We are hopeful that the Government’s new strategy will see positive movement on the number of people leaving prison and going into work. This will not only help boost the economy but, as having a job is a major driver to reduce reoffending, will help cut crime.”
Learn more about our work
We operate in more than 40 prisons and provide services across England and Wales. We help 28,000 people across our services each year and run the CAS-2 service for the Government housing people coming out of prison on bail or licence. We work with people at every stage of the criminal justice system, from liaison and diversion services in police custody and courts, to resettlement into the community after prison. We use the insights from our services and the experiences of the people we support to campaign together for a criminal justice system which better serves us all. We’ve been working in this field for more than 50 years.