§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions the Prison Department has had with each training and enterprise council regarding schemes to provide employment for ex-offenders;
(2) how much the Prison Department spent in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 on funding schemes which provide employment for ex-offenders; and what proportion this was of the Prison Department's budget.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated July 1993:
TRAINING AND ENTERPRISE COUNCILS EMPLOYMENT SCHEMES FOR EX-OFFENDERS
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question seeking information about what discussions the Prison Service has had with each Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) regarding schemes to provide employment for ex-offenders.
TECs are responsible for adult and youth training schemes. Prison Service establishments are encouraged to work with their local TEC in helping to meet offenders' training needs. Discussions between the Prison Service and individual TECs normally take place at a local level; the details are not recorded centrally.
As a result of these local contacts, a number of important joint ventures between prisons and TECs have been developed. To build on these, the Prison Service is working with the Training, Enterprise and Education Directorate and the Probation Service to produce a good practice guide for TECs on meeting the training needs of offenders and ex-offenders. The guide will be issued later this year.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated July 1993:
Expenditure on Employment schemes for ex-offenders
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about how much the Prison Department spent in 1991 and 1992 on funding schemes which provide employment for ex-offenders.The Prison Service undertakes a wide range of work aimed at preparing, training and assisting prisoners to find jobs on release. The cost of this is not separately distinguished. The work is described in "Employment in Prisons and for Ex-Offenders. The Government Reply to the First Report from the Employment Committee Session 1991–92 HC30". I 339W enclose a copy of the Report, which I hope will help to fill out the picture for you. Since the Government's Reply was published, the Employment Service has agreed to provide additional funding to enable the number of prison job clubs and prisons running job search preparation courses to be increased. In consequence, as part of its business plan for 1993–94, the Prison Service aims to increase the number of prisons running job search preparation courses from 24 to 48 and the number of prison job clubs from 5 to 10.