Prisoners should have a job to start the day they leave jail, says Justice Secretary ahead of shake-up

PRISONERS should be ready to start a job on the day they leave jail to keep them on the straight and narrow, the Justice Secretary will say today as he announces a major overhaul of education and employment support for convicts.

David Gauke will say it is “critical for society” to cut reoffending, which costs victims and taxpayers £15billion per year, and that educating prisoners “significantly” cuts the numbers who commit further crimes. As part of the shake-up being announced today, Mr Gauke will give prison governors greater freedom to decide on the classes offered to inmates so they can be given skills tailored to the needs of local employers.

The Government is also trying to recruit major employers to take part in a scheme to offer work to ex-offenders.

Currently more than half of convicts enter prison with the English and maths abilities of a primary school pupil, while only 53 per cent have any qualifications at all. Their lack of education, coupled with a criminal record, makes finding work difficult, and contributing to the fact that more than one in four reoffend within a year. Ministry of Justice figures show that prisoners who participate in education are 7.5 per cent less likely to reoffend within a year.

During pilot schemes, governors have arranged for training in fork lift truck driving and scaffolding, as well as academic subjects.