Resettlement 20 The process of transition towards resettlement is a difficult one for most prisoners. They face many barriers – financial, finding work and accommodation and regaining contact with family and community. Firmer links are being made between prisons and agencies with a part to play in resettlement. The Custody to Work Unit, newly established in the Prison Service, has started to address resettlement issues as part of its aim to double the proportion of prisoners who get jobs on release by 2004. The New Deal and other employment programmes will continue to play a key role in helping ex-prisoners further develop their skills and find work. The new local Information, Advice and Guidance Services for adults will also have a role to play. 21 To improve further the arrangements for prisoners pre-release and on resettlement, the new Prisoners Learning and Skills Unit will work together with the Prison Service, DfEE and key partners like the Learning and Skills Council, the Employment Service and the Probation Service. As a first step they will co-ordinate their efforts to produce an updated framework governing the resettlement of prisoners. The Social Exclusion Unit’s report on resettlement will provide the opportunity to identify more radical approaches. Case Study Filton College: Power Project – a college led partnership to support resettlement Filton College in the South West of England has developed and led the POWER project – Preparing Offenders for Wider Education on Release – based at Leyhill prison. The project is a regional partnership where local colleges, probation services, prisons and voluntary agencies throughout the South West co-ordinate their efforts to support effective resettlement. The aim is to reduce the barriers to learning which male and female ex-offenders commonly experience on release into the community and so increase the numbers of ex-offenders taking up a course of education or training on release. This in turn increases their chances of getting a job on completion of the course.

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