Question
I thank the Minister for her responses. Does she agree that more needs to be done to prevent reoffending while offenders are actually in prison, so that they do not commit further crimes when they are released and on tags? What is she doing to ensure that there is appropriate education and training across the prison estate?
Answer
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that ensuring that there is purposeful activity in prisons, and that prisoners can gain life skills and work skills while they are in prison, will help to reduce reoffending and help to tackle the prison capacity challenge that we have. She will recognise that the capacity challenge we inherited makes all of this harder—it makes everything we are doing in the prison system harder. That is why we are both building more prison spaces and ensuring that we invest in and support rehabilitation while people are in prison, to reduce the need to recall people when they reoffend. We are tackling this on all fronts, and I appreciate my hon. Friend’s support for our efforts.20% point-scoring 20% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (52/100)
The Minister clearly agreed with the MP's point that purposeful activity in prison reduces reoffending, and linked this to investing in rehabilitation to cut recalls. The reply only touched on skills and training in general terms, though, and did not explain what is being done to ensure education and training provision across the prison estate. A member of the public would likely find the first part answered but would need to ask again for specifics on the second.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the Minister agree that more needs to be done to prevent reoffending while offenders are in prison? | Addressed | Direct | The Minister directly agrees with the premise, saying the hon. Friend is 'absolutely right' that purposeful activity and skills in prison reduce reoffending, and adds a concrete mechanism: investing in rehabilitation during custody to reduce recalls. |
| What is the department doing to ensure appropriate education and training across the prison estate? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply touches on skills through 'purposeful activity' and 'life skills and work skills' and on investment in rehabilitation, but it never describes what the department is doing to ensure education and training provision across the prison estate, so the answer remains a general gesture. |