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<p>The Government is committed to a sentencing framework that takes account of the
true nature of crimes and targets specific groups of offenders accordingly. This means
that serious criminals must spend time in prison that reflects the gravity of their
crimes, whilst we also look to divert offenders away from a life of crime and support
them to rehabilitate.</p><p> </p><p>The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act introduced
targeted interventions for the most serious and most dangerous offenders, and those
of most public concern. This includes those who commit the premeditated murder of
a child, for example. These are serious crimes, and we must ensure that offenders
are receiving appropriate punishments so that victims are protected for longer and
the public can have confidence in the system.</p><p> </p><p>This government has made
tangible progress in tackling the £18 billion cost of reoffending and protecting the
public. Data shows that over the last 10 years, reoffending rates have decreased from
30.9% in 2009/10 to 25.6% in 2019/2020. To continue this progress, we will invest
£200m a year by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment
support and substance misuse treatment. This includes delivering a Prisoner Education
Service which raises the level of the numeracy, literacy, skills and qualifications
of offenders and delivering a presumption in favour of offering offenders the chance
to work in prisons and on release.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside delivering 20,000 additional
prison places by the middle of this decade, we are also continuing to invest in critical
maintenance projects to ensure as much capacity as possible is kept online. This will
have a positive impact on lowering the proportion of crowding within the prison estate.</p>
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