Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones has welcomed Government proposals for tougher community sentences that will see offenders made to do a full five-day week of hard work and job-seeking. The work will include manual labour, improving public areas by clearing up litter, cleaning graffiti and maintaining parks and other green spaces.

The new rules will see unemployed criminals forced to work a minimum of 28 hours over four days, with the fifth day spent looking for full-time employment.

These proposals are part of the Government’s plans to reform sentencing and tackle the root causes of offending. As well as giving something back to communities affected by crime, they will help bring structure to offenders’ lives. This will encourage them back into the routine of hard and meaningful work.

Marcus said: ‘People want to see offenders punished for their crimes as well as giving back to the community. They should be made to work the full five-day week that decent, law-abiding citizens do, rather than idly waste their lives on street corners.

‘The introduction of a regular, meaningful working week will help break the cycle of crime and tackle the appalling rate of reoffending we inherited from the previous Government. We will then see fewer criminals, fewer victims of crime and big savings for the taxpayer - a thoroughly positive result for society and the local community here in Nuneaton.’