Speeches by Ranger.

“We saw for ourselves in the consulate in New York how the Wales team and the DBT team are working together there. You had written to us in some evidence saying that there were some areas of improvement between those two teams that you had some recommendations for. Could you elaborate on those points for us? What change…”

“I completely agree. That will be crucial to improving services for everybody. We have a renewed deal for Welsh customers as well. The inclusion of a memorandum of understanding means that there will be a shared understanding and shared objectives across funding, access and track integration. Crucially for Wrexham, it a…”

“I welcome the clear ambition for our railways, and therefore for our nation, that the Railways Bill brings. Rail runs in my family’s blood: my late grandad worked on the railways, first for London and North Western Railway and then for British Rail in Crewe, one of the homes of rail and where I spent the early part of …”

“You mentioned having too few staff and losing experienced staff. Are probation services in Wales taking that into account? Are they sufficiently resourced to ensure successful rehabilitation and to keep communities, and especially victims and survivors, safe?”

“I thank all the witnesses for coming in today—welcome. Martin, your predecessor in the role, Justin Russell, stated that probation standards have got “worse” in recent years. Do you agree?”

“Obviously, staff are the main resource, but what about other resources? I am thinking about things like data systems and premises. Are the services that probation relies on for delivery in Wales sufficiently resourced?”

“Mr Hall, on the subject of UK Government and Welsh Government systems working together, your organisation has previously stated that some of your members feel that the UK Government “does not necessarily recognise specific Welsh legislation,” as it relates to people being held in Welsh prisons and their families. Could…”

“If you could send that information, that would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.”

“I have one final question. You touched on GDPR and information sharing; is that an issue between those 80 providers when you are dealing with these cases?”

“That’s fine. Katie, your organisation represents over 80 housing, homelessness and support service providers in Wales. Do you assess that there is sufficient clarity, co-ordination and collaboration between all those third sector providers in the work supporting prison leavers?”

“Thank you; that is really interesting. Chloe, do you have anything to add to that point about local authorities? Chloe Marshall indicated dissent.”

“Great. Thank you both very much. You have probably touched on the answer to the next bit already, but I would like to ask both of you this. The co-ordination between the resettlement teams and local authorities is obviously key, as is sharing information, which you have already mentioned. Is that working effectively—I …”

“Thank you both for coming in today. As we have heard, multiple stakeholders are involved in co-ordinating housing and the relevant support for prison leavers in Wales. To give some examples, HMPPS has accommodation pathway co-ordinators, strategic housing advisers, specialist housing advisers and a prison resettlement …”

“Thank you all for coming in today. This is a question for all of you, but I will start off with you, Jassa. What is the purpose of providing education and employment in prison, and is the current provision meeting that aim?”

“Jon, I have the same original question to you, but also could you add in your thoughts? The Prisoners’ Education Trust offers a variety of distance learning courses. What benefits does this method of learning offer and are there any notable trends that you have observed in demand for your courses across prisons in Wale…”

“We will come back to that in future questions. That is great as an introduction, thank you. Anne-Marie, it is the same question but also could I ask you what the benefits are of continuous employment as an offender transitions from custody into their community?”

“You would recommend to other businesses to give it a go.”

“Thank you all for coming in today. This is one for all of you. Why did your organisation decide to work with prisoners and ex‑offenders in the first place? What would you say to businesses in Wales that are considering working with prisoners or ex-offenders?”

“This probably follows on from what you have just talked about. Do you believe that Government policies around the strategic sites accelerator—I will have to slow down when I try to say that—and the AI growth zones will regenerate the communities, given what you have just said?”

“It is nice to see you again; we have met before. This probably follows on from what we have just been talking about, but I would be interested to hear from both of you about how you would like to see regional and city growth deals improve to better deliver economic benefits to former industrial areas. I represent Wrexh…”