Top bosses join forces to get thousands of offenders on probation into work

Top UK business leaders will spearhead a major new drive to get thousands of offenders into stable jobs and away from a life of crime.

Bosses from household names including Greggs, Iceland and COOK will be among those to sit on new Employment Councils supporting offenders serving their sentence in the community into work.

They will build on the success of prison Employment Advisory Boards, which were created by Lord Timpson before he became a government minister. These have brought local business leaders into jails to improve education and prisoners' ability to get work when released.

The new regional Employment Councils will expand this model out to the Probation Service and the tens of thousands of offenders serving their sentences in the community.

Each council will also have a representative from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help improve links with local job centres.

The initiative was a manifesto commitment and will play a crucial role in the Government's mission to make streets safer by tackling reoffending under the Plan for Change.

Around 80% of all crime is reoffending but latest data shows offenders employed six weeks after leaving prison had a reoffending rate around half of those out of work.

Alongside breaking the cycle of crime, getting offenders into work helps employers fill vacancies, build their businesses, plug skill gaps and boost the UK economy.

Minister for Probation, Prisons and Reducing Reoffending, James Timpson, said:

“Getting former offenders into stable work is a sure way of cutting crime and making our streets safer. That's why partnering with businesses to get more former offenders into work is a win-win.

“The Employment Advisory Boards I spear-headed have made huge progress and now these Employment Councils will expand that success to steer even more offenders away from crime as part of our Plan for Change.”

Employment Councils will provide support to frontline probation staff already involved in getting offenders into work. They will provide them with a greater understanding of the local labour market and help build better relationships with suitable employers.

Further support from the DWP will help link offenders with work coaches placed at job centres throughout the country.

These coaches will be on hand to get offenders job-ready through mock interviews, CV advice and by sharing tips on how to secure further training opportunities in the community.

DWP Lords Minister, Baroness Maeve Sherlock, said: 

"As well as making our streets safer, helping offenders into work will enable employers to fill vacancies and plug our skills gaps.

"This work is vital in our Plan for Change as we begin our task of fixing the fundamentals of the social security system and progress with wider work to reduce poverty, put more money in people's pockets and keep our streets safe.

"That's why I am pleased that DWP staff will also be a part of the new regional Employment Councils to directly connect them with the frontline support delivered every day by Jobcentre staff across the country - offering work experience and access to our employment programmes."

Research from the Ministry of Justice shows that 90% of businesses that employ ex-offenders agreed that they are good attenders, motivated and trustworthy

Rosie Brown Co-CEO of COOK:

"A job provides a key way to help people restore their lives and relationships following a stretch in prison.

"In return, we get committed, loyal team members to help us build our business.  Re-offending is reduced, and families, communities, and society as a whole wins.”

Employment Councils will serve as the successor to regional Employment Advisory Boards and will officially bring together probation, prisons, local employers and DWP under one umbrella for the first time, with a renewed focus on broadening support to offenders in the community.

The Boards will continue at 93 individual prisons but the addition of regional Employment Councils will help prison leavers look for work across an entire region, not just the immediate vicinity of the last prison they were in.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• The latest data shows offenders unemployed six weeks after leaving prison had a reoffending rate more than double of those in work (35.3% vs 16.8%).
• Over 90 percent of businesses that employ ex-offenders agreed they are motivated, reliable, good at their job and trustworthy, according to a survey by Kantar Public commissioned by the Ministry of Justice. Total sample size 114 businesses that employ ex-offenders. Fieldwork undertaken between 18-24 March 2022. Online self-completion survey.
• Employment Councils will be set up in 11 different regions, encompassing all of England and Wales. The regional breakdown is as follows: