Prisoners: Rehabilitation and Work

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 6 December 2016.

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Photo of John Glen John Glen Conservative, Salisbury 12:00, 6 December 2016

What steps she is taking to improve rehabilitation in prisons.

Photo of Elizabeth Truss Elizabeth Truss The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The prison and courts reform Bill will, for the first time, set out in legislation that the reform of offenders is a key purpose of prison. Prison is not just about housing offenders until release. Everyone involved in prisons, from officers to headquarters, will be focused on turning prisoners’ lives around.

Photo of John Glen John Glen Conservative, Salisbury

Will the Lord Chancellor think about the pathway back to independent crime-free living and the use of organisations such as the Amber Foundation, which do a lot to look after people before they have developed the life skills to live independently and free from crime?

Photo of Elizabeth Truss Elizabeth Truss The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

I congratulate the Amber Foundation on its work, particularly in turning around the lives of young people. We will shortly issue our response to Charlie Taylor’s review on how we will improve the youth justice system to do just that.

Photo of Andrew Turner Andrew Turner Conservative, Isle of Wight

Given the recent attack on a prison officer in my Constituency, what will the Secretary of State be doing to ensure the safety of prison officers at work?

Photo of Elizabeth Truss Elizabeth Truss The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Making our prisons safer places is my No. 1 priority. That is why we are dealing with drugs, drones and phones, and it is why we are investing in additional prison staff across the estate.

Lord Chancellor

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Secretary of State

Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

constituency

In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent