Some people argue that ex-criminals, who have undergone punishment  and been left free, should be given the freedom not to mention about their criminal conviction while applying for jobs.

Argue for and against this view. 

 'Relax rules on declaring criminal convictions'

Former prisoners should no longer be forced to declare their convictions to employers to prevent ex-offenders being left jobless, according to Ofsted.

Ministers should scrap the existing “one size fits all” approach to criminal convictions because it acts as a “clear barrier to employment”, it was claimed.  The education watchdog said the courts should be given discretion to allow individual prisoners to keep their convictions secret after being released from jail – particularly if they study English and maths courses while behind bars.

It was also claimed that existing prison sentences failed to focus enough on boosting standards of basic skills and increasing an offender's chances of finding work. The comments came as figures from Ofsted showed that not a single prison had been rated outstanding – the top possible category – for education and training over the last four years. Matthew Coffey, the watchdog's national director for further education and skills, whose remit covers the justice system, said that almost two-thirds of prisoner education was not good enough. Speaking on Thursday, he said that every prisoner cost the taxpayer £34,000 a year – the same as sending a child to Eton – and more effort had be to be placed on cutting reoffending.

In a lecture at Wormwood Scrubs Prison, west London, he called on the Government to review existing rules surrounding the declaration of convictions after release from jail. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, a prison term of up to six months must be declared to prospective employers for seven years, while a sentence of more than two-and-a-half years must be declared for life. But Mr Coffey told ministers they should consider overhauling the rules, adding: “Rather than a one size fits all approach, consider empowering the courts to determine on a case by case basis the length of time that a conviction must be declared beyond the time spent in prison. “This may or may not be conditional on the offender gaining, say, qualifications in English and maths while in prison. This would remove, or at least lower, the clear barrier to employment that nearly every ex-offender faces.”

But the comments were criticised by Mark Reckless, the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, who sits on the Commons home affairs select committee. “It would be far too onerous to expect courts to make bespoke decisions on individuals in this way,” he said. “Employers currently know when convictions are declared and when they aren’t. This would be undermined by a system of bespoke judgments on different offenders.” Currently, almost half of adult prisoners, and three-quarters of juveniles reoffend, Mr Coffey said. He suggested that prison sentences do not focus enough on increasing an offender's chances of finding work, suggesting more judges should “give the directive that an adult prisoner must complete an English or maths qualification”.

"The challenge is to halt this cycle of re-offending, this revolving door, in and out of prison,” he said. “The situation is only marginally better than it was 10 years ago.

"Every prisoner costs the taxpayer on average approximately £34,000 a year. Coincidentally, one year at Eton will also cost you around £34,000." 

Daily Telegraph 10/10/013