Understanding the barriers faced by those with a criminal record.
“You can’t move on from it, it’s almost like having a tattoo that you can’t ever remove. It was a blip, a mistake. I’ve never had a conviction before or been in trouble, it was one thing, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
12.5m people in England and Wales have a previous conviction and face barriers to accessing financial services and employment. NatWest Group’s aim was to explore this often-neglected group and understand what the bank could do to better support them to get back on their feet.
Working with five leading charities – Unlock, Switchback, The Forward Trust, Working Chance and Nacro – we brought together 19 lived experts with a range of different convictions. They shared their experiences in small, online breakout discussions, with colleagues from different parts of the bank.
In the first session we heard about how hard it can be to get a bank account when leaving prison and the knock-on mental health impacts this can have. This financial exclusion often then continues for years with a lack of access to affordable credit. mortgages and insurance, undermining people’s attempts to move on with their lives and making reoffending more likely.
In the second session we honed in on the barriers to employment, with the lived experts and charities providing suggestions for how recruitment practices can be made more inclusive. We heard positive stories about the benefits that come when individuals are supported back into the workplace. The programme challenged many of the assumptions that NatWest Group participants had held about people with convictions and provided suggestions for what they could do differently as both an employer and a financial services provider.
“The lived-experience conversations were hugely valuable in helping us understand the real‑world challenges faced by people with convictions. The insights shared have not only deepened our understanding but have also provided a catalyst for internal discussion as we consider how we can better support individuals seeking a fresh start.”
Caroline Edwards, Financial Wellbeing Lead, NatWest Group
