Birmingham jail inmates given unemployment pay

Mar 7 2010 by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury

PRISONERS at tough Midland jails are receiving unemployment pay, the Sunday Mercury can reveal.

Crooks unable to graft because workshops are full are being given taxpayer cash to lounge around watching TV, or to relax in their cells.

Hardened cons including murderers and rapists at HMP Long Lartin, Worcestershire, and Birmingham’s Winson Green are even able to claim sick pay when ill.

The controversial unemployment benefit scheme came to light after a prisoner asked an inmate’s magazine, Inside Time, how much he could claim.

He wrote: “If someone is employed in a workshop and is therefore fully employed, does the prison have to pay you if they don’t require you to work because the workshop is full and it is not the prisoner’s fault?

“Surely it’s not fair if they pay you the minimum rate for something that isn’t your fault?”

The Prison Service wrote back to the inmate, stating: “If a prisoner is willing to work but no work is currently available, then they will receive unemployment pay of £2.50 per week.’’

Last night, a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman confirmed that more than 80,000 prisoners across the country are eligible for the unemployment hand-outs, but claimed the payments help to prepare lags for release.

She said: “Under prison rules convicted prisoners are required to work. Those who refuse do not receive any pay.