Call for bosses to employ ex-cons

THE government has been called on to encourage employers to hire young people with criminal records.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative Party leader, told MPs yesterday there was an "issue about what remains on people's records" because companies turned applicants away "simply because they've been inside".

His remarks came during Commons question time, after Tory David Burrowes asked about the problem of "education leavers with criminal records" seeking employment.

Mr Duncan Smith said the Government's Work Programme was "narrowly focused" on their needs.

He added: "There is an issue about what remains on people's records.

"I hope that we will in due course be careful about looking at that because sometimes people who are trying for that second chance find that when the employers look at them, they say 'no' simply because they've been inside.

"I think a compassionate society should try and do something about that."