Ministry of Justice data suggests that only 17 per cent of people with criminal convictions get a job within a year of release [1].
There are over 11 million people in the UK with a criminal record and approximately 735,000 people with unspent convictions [2].
Some 30 per cent of employers say they would automatically exclude a candidate who declared an unspent conviction [3], while convictions can create additional barriers to self-employment and successful business start-ups [4].
For the second of two meetings on barriers to work, the London Assembly Economy Committee will meet tomorrow to discuss barriers that people who have had contact with the criminal justice system face in accessing employment.
It will also examine the disproportionate barriers that women and those belonging to minority ethnic backgrounds face.
The guests are:
- Will Balakrishnan, Director of Commissioning and Partnerships, The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)
- Darren Burns, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Timpson Group
- Angela Cairns, Chief Executive Officer, Unlock
- Natasha Finlayson, Chief Executive, Working Chance
- Duncan O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer, New Futures Network
The meeting will take place on Wednesday 22 February from 2pm, in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
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Notes to editors
- New Futures Network, Employment prisoners and ex-offenders, October 2020
- Unlock, Key facts - Unlock, January 2023
- Working Chance, Progress & Prejudice | Working Chance, Autumn 2022
- Clinks RR3 Special Interest Group on employment support for people in contact with the criminal justice system, July 2019
- Full agenda papers.
- Hina Bokhari AM, Chair of the Economy Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the work of the Economy Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more information, please contact Emma Bowden in the Assembly Media Office on 07849 303897. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.