Home Secretary visits ex-offenders in Slough

04/05/2010

Image caption goes here The Home Secretary meets members of Blue Sky team

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, has today met employees of a unique company that gives ex-offenders a real job that helps boost their skills and confidence and reduces the likelihood of their reoffending.

The company - Blue Sky - is a grounds maintenance and recycling company established by regeneration charity Groundwork Thames Valley. Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, Home Secretary, and Rt Hon Fiona Mactaggart, MP for Slough, were paying a visit to Blue Sky’s team working on a grounds maintenance contract with Slough Enterprise. The MPs visited the Blue Sky team, who are improving the grounds of a block of flats in Priory Road in Langley Ward.

Mr Johnson was interested to hear about the training and support given by Blue Sky to help its employees back into sustainable employment. He spent time chatting to the Blue Sky team members, including Employment Liaison Manager, Frank Hough, Team Supervisor Alistair MacCuish and Team Member, Damian Hanson.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said, “You can just see the self-esteem and confidence beaming out of the Blue Sky team.”

“Blue Sky is about ensuring ex-offenders don’t get onto the treadmill of reoffending, and back in prison. The team members have got a job to do, it’s lifting their self-esteem, ensuring they finish the day feeling they’ve achieved something. It’s breaking down the barriers that stop them getting them back into society, and stopping them reoffending.”

He added, "The whole point of Blue Sky is to ensure that ex-offenders don’t slip back into the life that got them into prison in the first place. With Blue Sky they get the work and they actually become more included in society.”

Andrea McCubbin, Blue Sky’s General Manager, said, “We are delighted to welcome the Home Secretary today. It is very encouraging to find that the effectiveness of Blue Sky’s work is being recognised.”

The group was later joined by Mr Peter Dale-Gough, Conservative councillor for Langley Ward, and Ms Anna Wright, political assistant to Diana Coad, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Slough.

For further information, contact:

Ruth Boyer, Communications Manager, 01895 839852

Notes to editors

Blue Sky Development and Regeneration is an award-winning[1] social enterprise established by regeneration charity Groundwork Thames Valley. It employs only ex-offenders and offers them a proper job in a proper company with work-based training.

Blue Sky offers employment in grounds maintenance and recycling work and provides the social and employment skills necessary for its employees to (re-)enter the workplace. The recruitment process and training start before release from prison.

Key facts about Blue Sky:

258 people employed since we began in October 2005
We currently have 34 employees working with us on six month contracts and 12 permanent members of staff
46% move into sustained employment once they leave Blue Sky
In 2009/10 70% of our employees left us with an accredited vocational qualification
The average age of our employees is 28
In 2009/10 16% of our employees were homeless when they joined us
Half of our employees have had drug and/or alcohol issues in the past
In 2009/10 the average months served in prison for new joiners was 26 months
In 2009/10 we have improved and maintained over 500 acres of land and recycled 3,532 tonnes of waste

Blue Sky is a registered company and registered charity. It works in partnership with grounds maintenance contractors and local authorities in Slough, Hillingdon, Harefield, Ealing, Bristol, Gloucester and Manchester.

Blue Sky was founded in 2005 by Mick May, Executive Director of regeneration charity, Groundwork Thames Valley. Mick is now Blue Sky’s Chief Executive and Group Managing Director of Groundwork Thames Valley.