Prison restaurant The Clink to open in Cheshire

This will be the charity’s first restaurant in the north of England, and its first initiative in a prison for women, as at 50 per cent, female reoffending stands slightly above the national reoffending rate of 46.9 per cent.

Governor of HMP Styal John Hewitson said: "We are pleased to welcome this exciting partnership with The Clink Charity which will help us get more women into employment and, in turn, help reduce the risk of reoffending. When the restaurant opens, it will give the community an opportunity to see first-hand how we’re helping to prepare these women for release."

The charity focuses on reducing reoffending by offering prisoners foodservice training through a five-step programme (recruit, train, audit, employ and mentor). It has achieved a rate of just 12.5 per cent after a full year of release for its trainees at HMP High Down, since opening its first restaurant there in May 2009.

Chris Moore, chief executive of The Clink Charity, added: "Opening the Restaurant at HMP Styal strengthens The Clink's commitment to reduce reoffending rates. It also means that we can increase our training efforts to continue to bridge the skills gap in the hospitality industry. We’ve seen such positive results from the projects currently in action and with the concept being expanded across the prison estate; we hope to continue seeing a decrease in reoffending rates with support from businesses and the public."

The new opening follows the launch of The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton in February 2014​​ and The Clink Gardens at HMP Send, and puts The Clink charity halfway towards its goal of ten facilities in operation by the end of 2017.

Reaching this target would mean that over 500 qualified foodservice professionals would enter employment each year through the programme.

The Clink Charity selects prisoners with six to 18 months left of their sentence, after assessing their suitability to the scheme, and teaches them a specific trade while they study to get National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).