Memorandum submitted as part of the inquiry into Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation in Wales: St Giles Trust

Key findings

• Devolved Welsh government powers over health, housing and education create systemic gaps for people leaving prison, causing missed appointments, unstable housing and poor health continuity, increasing reoffending risk.
• St Giles's Peer Advisor Programme achieves 83% employment rates post-release (vs 19.3% government baseline) and generates £5–£8.54 social return per £1 invested; governors call it an 'essential service'.
• The absence of a women's prison in Wales results in Welsh women being held hundreds of miles from home, causing family separation, language/cultural displacement, fragmented release planning and reduced court confidence in alternatives.
• Wonder+, a trauma-informed whole-system programme for women, diverts low-risk offenders from custody into community support addressing root causes of offending; women describe it as 'life-changing'.
• St Giles recommends a joint MoU/HMPPS–Welsh Government commissioning framework, structured regional justice–health–housing boards with lived-experience partners, a Parity Charter guaranteeing Welsh-language access, and scaling of diversion hubs across Wales.

Recommendations

• Establish joint MoJ/HMPPS–Welsh Government commissioning framework for resettlement with shared KPIs covering housing, health, employment and bilingual access.
• Set up structured regional justice–health–housing boards including lived-experience partners and mandate single care plans accessible across agencies.
• Roll out mandated rehabilitative timetables across prison estates, bringing together health and housing navigators with peer teams; ensure neuroinclusive and bilingual materials available at all sites.
• Scale Wonder+ diversionary hubs across Wales as default pathway for low-risk women with bilingual delivery and local partnerships.
• Introduce a Parity Charter guaranteeing Welsh-language access for all education and rehabilitation programmes and equitable access to accredited qualifications and ROTL placements.
• Expand Peer Advisor programmes across the estate and develop structured partnerships with Welsh employers providing in-work mentoring.
• Invest in community alternatives to custody including gender-responsive problem-solving courts and restorative justice.
• Provide secure transport and consistent digital family contact for women held outside Wales to maintain family ties.
• Standardise consent-based data sharing and improve data collection/publication to match depth available in England.

Key actors

St Giles Trust, UK Ministry of Justice, HMPPS, Welsh Government, Prison Governors, Female Offending Blueprint for Wales (2019)