On Thursday (3 March) I announced the expansion of the Employment Advisory Board programme to help more offenders use their time in prison to gain the skills and links they need to find a stable job upon release.
Employment Advisory Boards - which act as a link between jails and employers - have already been established in 23 prisons. Following the success of the programme, I announced today that we will be quadrupling this number and establishing boards across 91 prisons across England.
The boards, which are chaired by local businesspeople, have been proven to help improve the job prospects of inmates while they serve their time in prison by connecting them with suitable, local employers.
Evidence shows that prisoners who go on to find sustainable work within six months of leaving prison are up to nine percentage points less likely to reoffend than those who don’t.
Prisoner reoffending is estimated to cost the taxpayer £18 billion every year. By improving employment prospects for prisoners, we can reduce the chance of reoffending – cutting crime and making the public safer – all while providing reliable labour to local businesses.
You can read my article in the Telegraph on my plan to cut reoffending and get more prisoners into work here.
