04/10/2011The government announces plans to increase the number of working inmates as business leaders call for more ex-offenders to be given jobs.
A host of business leaders, including Sir Richard Branson, have backed government plans to introduce real work into prisons.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke unveiled the plans at the Conservative party conference, with the ultimate aim of having 20,000 inmates working in prisons by 2020. The money they raise from this work will be used to compensate victims and cut reoffending rates.
Call for more jobs for ex-offenders
In a letter to the Financial Times, Sir Richard, Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland and other company bosses also called for more jobs to be given to "potential superstars" who are currently in prison.
They wrote: "Our experience shows that people from prison, if properly selected, will prove to be just as reliable as recruits from elsewhere. It is their personality that matters the most."
Some prison work schemes have already been set up, including a sheet metal factory in Altcourse Prison near Liverpool, while inmates at other prisons work for the likes of courier company DHL and Timpson. As well as earning money, they achieve skills and qualifications with the aim of helping them gain employment on the outside.
Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Virgin Active are among the companies who employ ex-offenders.
The government has cited reoffending rates of 22% for people who go into full-time work after leaving prison, compared with 70% overall.
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