McKelvie Ian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMcKelvie Ian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13464. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.IANMcKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei) to theMinister of Corrections: What recent announcements has she made to reduce re-offending in prison?Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Corrections): I recently launched a comprehensive prisoner education strategy that will give prisoners the skills and qualifications they need in order to find work when they are released from prison. For the first time every prisoner will have an education assessment when they enter prison which will be used to develop an individual learning and training plan. This will enable corrections to provide targeted and results-focused learning programmes to prisoners supporting them to gain qualifications. And for the first time we have set ambitious education targets to ensure that we will get the results that we need. By July 2017 85 percent of youth prisoners will be involved in National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2 qualifications and 55 percent of prisoners aged 25 to 34 will receive support towards New Zealand Qualifications Framework qualifications at level 4 or above.Ian McKelvie: What role does education play in reducing reoffending?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Research has consistently shown that offenders who are in employment and have stability in their lives are less likely to reoffend. Most prisoners cannot read or write properly and if this is not addressed prisoners on release have difficulty adjusting to life on the outside have difficulty finding work and too often return to crime. So this new education strategy will ensure that prisoners are given the opportunity to gain the skills they need—Rt Hon Winston Peters: If it works inside prison why won’t it work outside? Think about it.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: —and this complements the other work we are doing in our prisons to increase drug and alcohol treatment. I am happy to give you some advice on that Mr Peters. Getting prisoners off drugs and giving them educational qualificationsand employment training will ensure we meet our Better Public Services target of reducing reoffending—Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You would have heard what that member said—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! No I cannot hear—Rt Hon Winston Peters: You would have heard what that member said and all I want to tell her is that if she wants a free-for-all for her and her colleagues she will get it.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. [Interruption] Order! If the Rt Hon Winston Peters is going to continue to bellow across the Chamber I will be asking him to leave.Le’aufa’amuliaAsenati Lole-Taylor: Is the Minister aware or does she know of the completion rate of those prisoners undertaking rehabilitation programmes to address their sexual violence offending; if not why not?Hon ANNE TOLLEY: We have a number of rehabilitation interventions for offenders charged with sexual offences. I do not have the figures in front of me but I am happy to provide them to the member if she wants to put that question to me in writing. Those offenders can in fact be very successfully trained to deal with their problems and of course there are quite rigorous post-release arrangements to make sure that they do not cause more harm in the community.