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Oxford brewery employing ex-offenders hopes to expand services

Tap Social Tap SocialTap Social
The social enterprise has five venues across Oxfordshire

A social enterprise that provides employment for ex-offenders has started a crowdfunding campaign to grow its impact in 2024.

The Tap Social Movement, based in Oxford, operates a brewery, pubs and a cafe which offer employment to prison leavers and those on day release.

Director Tess Taylor claimed their work had contributed to lowering reoffending rates.

Ex-offender Cooper said the experience had helped boost his confidence.

ARTUR TIXILISKI Tess (with the white shirt) and some of the Tap director teamARTUR TIXILISKI
Tess Taylor (in the white shirt, pictured with the Tap Social team) says the crowdfunding campaign would allow them increase their reach

The social enterprise has five community spaces across Oxfordshire and said it had created "more than 80,000 hours of paid, meaningful employment for people in prison and prison leavers".

Ms Taylor also said creating a team where a third of their employees joined from prison had reduced the "reoffending rate in that cohort by over 40% from the national average".

A Ministry of Justice report showed adults released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months had a proven reoffending rate of 54%.

Ms Taylor said: "Opening new hospitality venues has created dozens more jobs for people in prison, and has given us a platform to talk about our mission.

"In the last year, we've put tens of thousands of cans of beer into people's hands, each with facts about the UK's criminal justice system and an explanation of why our life-changing intervention is needed..."

Tap Social Tap Social bakeryTap Social
The Proof Social Bakehouse is also part of the social enterprise

She said the crowdfunding campaign would be an opportunity to become "truly inclusive" by developing an alcohol-free beer which would allow them to increase their reach and improve their venues' offerings.

Ex-offender Cooper started working at Tap Social Movement in 2021.

"I'm 43 now and I've never had a full-time job working for someone else," he said.

"They've helped me manage money, they've built my self-belief, they've given me a different outlook. That helps you to create a stable foundation for yourself."

Fellow ex-offender Dylan said working at Tap Social was "a life-changing move to make" and he has now taken his next step - training as a mental health support worker.

"I'd recommend it to anyone, go there, be around people, have some responsibility in your life," he added.

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