A £200,000 work scheme to involve prison inmates in working for the benefit the community and also boost their job prospects has been given the green light by councillors.

The positive project involves the use of small environment teams utilising prisoners to clean up and maintain land that is not covered by the the local authority.

It is hoped the experience gained will also boost offenders’ chances of gaining employment on release from their sentences.

Councillor Jim MacLeod who has campaigned for such a move for many years, today welcomed the development.

Mr MacLeod said: “I am glad that at long last Inverclyde Council is considering using prisoners for carrying out environmental works.

“This is something I have advocated for a long time. Thank goodness that at long last this is being looked at.”

Another strand of the initiative involves the setting up of a ‘share shop’, where prisoners manage the lending out of tools to the public.

Councillor MacLeod said he first suggested the use of prisoners doing community work as far back as 2007 when the QE2 was returning to Greenock as part of her final voyage, before going to Dubai.

At that time there was a report before the council exploring the cost and other factors of painting the railings at the town’s Esplanade.

Cllr MacLeod said: “I suggested if the council was finding the cost difficult then why not use offenders on community payback orders, low risk prisoners, young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards or other youngsters from uniformed organisations?”

The new work initiative was approved at a meeting of Inverclyde Council’s environment and regeneration committee.

A report to councillors said: “Officers consider that the environmental project will afford pre-release prisoners the likelihood of achieving an early positive employment on release due to the demands of this sector as compared to the retail sector.”

It is recommended that further investigation into the share shop proposal be made so it may be rolled out if more money is made available in the future.