A group representing the families of murder and manslaughter victims has called on the Government to bring about changes that would mean killers are not eligible for parole until their minimum sentence has been served.

Reducing barriers to the labour market for those leaving prison would assist employers to find new talent and help cut reoffending, a conference has heard.

The number of people being jailed has reached its lowest level since 2008 after a major drop in committals last year, figures show.

There have been calls for the Government to take a fresh look at the effectiveness of sending people to prison after a new report showed almost half of prison inmates had re-offended within three years.

Recorded reoffending rates among burglars released from prison have jumped, despite an overall reduction in criminals reoffending.