Liz Kendall isn’t doing one thing that would get people back into work (Image: PA)
The only person I know of in jail at the moment is a double lifer, in for murder and attempted murder.
And the closest I’ve been to being inside a prison myself is when I went to the carvery at the, now sadly closed, Princess Alice pub in Thamesmead, South London. The looming walls of Belmarsh Prison were very present outside the windows, as if to remind people to pay for their roast potatoes and slightly dry pork.
This all points to me not being an expert on prison life.
But with it being widely accepted that one of the biggest causes of reoffending when people are released are unemployment and financial issues, I have a way that Liz Kendall can make her ridiculous policy from earlier this week actually work for people who are ready to work.
Instead of sending work coaches into mental health hospitals, she should be working with the Ministry of Justice to help prisoners with CV writing and applying for jobs in the six months before they are released. This would be advantageous on all levels.
The prisoners would have something of value to do after they get out, so would feel more of a part of society. They would also be earning money so would be less likely to reoffend.
Reducing the reoffending rates would also mean that police don’t have to spend their days (and nights) dealing with the same people all the time.
And, critically for the bean counters in the DWP, by earning money the ex-cons would be less likely to have to claim benefits, or would be claiming them at a lower rate.
This would be of benefit to taxpayers who are the ultimate funders of the system.
Work coaches were once a successful part of the probation service, when they were understanding of an ex-offender’s experiences.
Someone who used to volunteer with the probation service once told me she was horrified to hear that a “man in a suit” had told an ex-con to start his personal statement on his CV with “I’ve just been released from prison after serving five years for armed robbery.”
After questioning when he’d ever done what a man in a suit had told him what to do she worked with him to make his CV attractive to employers.
They worked out that being a bank robber meant he was good at working in a team, had excellent organisational skills and prided himself on his attention to detail. (The reason his last bank robbery had failed was because the getaway driver hadn’t been in the right place.)
With his revised employer-friendly CV he got a job on a building site within a fortnight.
There are undoubtedly thousands of people in this man’s position who would benefit from the work coaches that Liz Kendall wants to force on mentally ill people.
So, just like Keir Starmer promised a change when Labour was elected in July, I’m urging her to change her ridiculous policy so it will benefit people who are actually fully fit to work.
Liz Kendall isn’t doing one thing that would get people back into work (Image: PA)
The only person I know of in jail at the moment is a double lifer, in for murder and attempted murder.
And the closest I’ve been to being inside a prison myself is when I went to the carvery at the, now sadly closed, Princess Alice pub in Thamesmead, South London. The looming walls of Belmarsh Prison were very present outside the windows, as if to remind people to pay for their roast potatoes and slightly dry pork.
This all points to me not being an expert on prison life.
But with it being widely accepted that one of the biggest causes of reoffending when people are released are unemployment and financial issues, I have a way that Liz Kendall can make her ridiculous policy from earlier this week actually work for people who are ready to work.
Instead of sending work coaches into mental health hospitals, she should be working with the Ministry of Justice to help prisoners with CV writing and applying for jobs in the six months before they are released. This would be advantageous on all levels.
The prisoners would have something of value to do after they get out, so would feel more of a part of society. They would also be earning money so would be less likely to reoffend.
Reducing the reoffending rates would also mean that police don’t have to spend their days (and nights) dealing with the same people all the time.
And, critically for the bean counters in the DWP, by earning money the ex-cons would be less likely to have to claim benefits, or would be claiming them at a lower rate.
This would be of benefit to taxpayers who are the ultimate funders of the system.
Work coaches were once a successful part of the probation service, when they were understanding of an ex-offender’s experiences.
Someone who used to volunteer with the probation service once told me she was horrified to hear that a “man in a suit” had told an ex-con to start his personal statement on his CV with “I’ve just been released from prison after serving five years for armed robbery.”
After questioning when he’d ever done what a man in a suit had told him what to do she worked with him to make his CV attractive to employers.
They worked out that being a bank robber meant he was good at working in a team, had excellent organisational skills and prided himself on his attention to detail. (The reason his last bank robbery had failed was because the getaway driver hadn’t been in the right place.)
With his revised employer-friendly CV he got a job on a building site within a fortnight.
There are undoubtedly thousands of people in this man’s position who would benefit from the work coaches that Liz Kendall wants to force on mentally ill people.
So, just like Keir Starmer promised a change when Labour was elected in July, I’m urging her to change her ridiculous policy so it will benefit people who are actually fully fit to work.
