IMPACTREPORT2023-2024Tap Social Movement
Table ofContents03A Message from the Founders04Our Mission05The Relationship BetweenCrime & Employment06Impact Strategy07Employment in Numbers08Advocacy and Awareness11The Impact of Employment12Words from our Employees14Greg’s Story16Team Benefits17Team Spotlight18Dan’s Story20Our Structure & Model21How We Work22Social Enterprise Leadership23Awards and Recognitionin 202424Environmental Sustainability26Governance272023 & 2024 in Numbers28Key Strategic Goals for 202529Memberships & Partners30Data and Sources31Contact
“It’s given me opportunity,it’s given me direction,it’s given me a sense ofstability in my life….Tap has given me so much,and has been so valuable.I’m so grateful for it.”(Tap Employee)
a message fromthe founders03Tap Social is a majority female-founded social enterprise set up to improveemployment opportunities for prisoners and prison leavers. Our vision is for a worldwhere everyone has access to employment and is enabled to support themselvesand their families. Having a job does more than provide financial stability: all peopleneed to be part of a community, and get a lot out of feeling like they arecontributing to something bigger than themselves. Whilst our industry has beensignificantly affected by Brexit, Covid, and the knock-on effects of devastatinginternational wars, we firmly believe that brewing and hospitality continue to bringpeople together and provide necessary social hubs for our communities, as well asoffering a wide range of roles which build confidence, resilience and transferrableskills.We have spent the last couple of years planning for our future. We have ambitiousplans to shift the public discourse on punishment and prison to place much greateremphasis on the future. We are encouraged by the appointment of a prisonsminister with a strong track record of advocating for the benefits of prisoneremployment. We want people to be able to use the time that they are in custody toprepare for life on the outside, and we need to stop putting barriers in front ofpeople who are trying to turn their lives around after a conviction. We are out toprove that second-chance employment, which allows people to make positive, life-changing decisions, makes sense for the whole community, and it makes goodbusiness sense too.Amy TaylorPaul HumphersonTess Taylor
Our Mission04Our mission is to reduce crime andreoffending by creating employmentopportunities for prisoners and prisonleavers. We brew, bake and create vibrantsocial spaces to help turn lives around andcreate happier communities.We employ people direct from prison onday release (Release On TemporaryLicence), through referrals fromcommunity partners, and through directapplications from people who haverecently completed a prison sentence.Mission The Power of Employment
Time in prison is an opportunity to change course: access to meaningful employment andtraining will reduce reoffending, saving money and preventing further victims. However, ofthe 42 inspections of prisons and young offender institutions conducted by Ofsted andEstyn (Wales) during 2022–23, only four institutions were judged to be providingeducation, work or skills at a reasonable standard. Greater emphasis on employment forprisoners and prison-leavers is necessary, including greater use of Release on TemporaryLicence (ROTL), which allows prisoners out to work or study.The RELATIONSHIP BETWEENCRIME & EMPLOYMENT05Employment is a major protective factor againstcrime. Having a job has been repeatedly proven toreduce reoffending.Of prisoners spend at least 22hours/day in their cells; this risesto 66% at weekendsOf prisoners were unemployed inthe four weeks before custodyOf prisoners have noqualifications42%68%47%
impact strategy06directemploymentof prisoners andprison-leavers to helpturn lives aroundadvocacyspreading ourmessage about theimportance ofsecond-chanceemploymentbrokeragesupporting companiesto provide employmentopportunities for thosewho need them themosttraining &developmenthelping our diverseteam to learn anddevelop to reachtheir potentialchallengingthe status quobeing agile in thought andaction, open-minded andwilling to push boundariesinclusivecommunitiesmaking sure that our teamand our customer base isdiverse and welcoming to all
Employment in Numbers07We provide meaningful, paid employment forpeople during and/or after prison sentences tohelp turn lives around.Hours of employment created forprisoners/prison-leavers in 2023and 2024Hours of employment created forprisoners/prison-leavers to dateEmployees who have had directexperience of prison to date29,16597,36754Tap Social National Average0 20 40 60 80% in Employment 6 weeks after prison
the impact of employment08The time after prison is very challenging and means rebuildingfamily relationships, trying to become financially independent,securing accommodation, and readjusting to freedom and life onthe outside. Any of these things is very difficult to do without theothers already in place. Having a job can significantly ease thistransition. Unemployment, low self-esteem and financialdependence are secondarypunishments after prison.Having a job makes a personless likely to reoffend.That’s what a JOBSWORTH.59%of unemployed people willreoffend within one year ofrelease from prison74%of prison-leavers areunemployed six months afterrelease from prison0%of our employees reoffendedwithin one year of release, 6%reoffended after one year
0989%of those who work at TapSocial are in employmentone year after prisonWorking at Tap improved this a lotWorking at Tap improved this a littleWorking at Tap didn't change thisWorking at Tap made this worse0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%Adjusting to living outside prisonBeing able to get another jobRelationships with family/ friendsLowering chances of getting a convictionBeing able to find housing“Tap improved meadjusting to life outsideprison 1 million percent”(Former Tap Employee)100%of employees said thatthey would recommendworking at Tap75%of employees felt that Taphelped them to adjust tolife on the outside 71%of employees felt that Taphelped them to secureother employmentHere is what our employees said about how working atTap has impacted other areas of their lives:
10All employees who start working with us whilst serving prison sentences, bycoming out on Release On Temporary License (ROTL), are paid fair marketwages and can rely on continued employment with us post-release.66%of our employees withexperience of prison joined uson day release from prison34%of our employees withexperience of prison joined usafter their release from prison
In addition to the messaging on our products, we use our strong links to government, thejudiciary and legal profession and political parties of all stripes to continue to lobby forpositive change in the way that our society approaches the issue of employment forprison leavers, and the treatment of prisoners and ex-offenders more widely. Examplesinclude giving a keynote speech along with colleagues with lived experience ofimprisonment at the annual national employment advisory board chairs’ conference inLondon, co-hosted by the Ministry of Justice and PWC and hundreds of other talks andpresentations to diverse audiences from civil servants and private sector employers toeducational institutions and voluntary groups to spread the word of our vision for a fairermore inclusive approach to prison leavers.Advocacy & Awareness11Each of our cans offers information about theprison system or the challenges faced by thosetrying to turn their lives around after prison, andfeatures art by talented people in prisons.One-time subsistence payment(previously discharge grant) onrelease from prisonPeople released from prison arehomelessAnnual cost of reoffending£89.5213%£18BN
...treated meas a human”...improved myconfidenceand skills”...helped mesettle back intonormal life”...showedappreciationfor my work andeffort”...gave me achance to notworry about myconviction”12Our employees say:“Tap Social...
“I had several interviews but the companies who I hadinterviews with did not wish to give me a chance oncethey knew that I had a conviction. I can not praise TapSocial enough for giving me a chance.”“The start of 2024 was very difficult for me as I was struggling bothphysically and mentally. This was because I was sending off jobapplications and attending interviews and receiving knock backafter knock back, until I met you at The Market Tap. All I waslooking for was for an employer to give me an opportunity. I wasbeginning to wonder if I was ever going to work again. I know that Ihave said this to you many times, but I just wanted to say thankyou for being that company who has given me an opportunity.” 13“It is [Tap Social’s] uniqueapproach that has alwaysmade me feel human andaccepted. This has inspiredme to continue to improve inareas of my life.”“[Tap Social is] veryunderstanding, veryapproachable, verycommitted to the cause.”“... it's a shame there are notmore companies around likeTap Social.”“Tap improved me adjustingto life outside prison 1 millionpercent”
I heard of Tap Social when myoffender management manager in theprison put me forward for a job,because in the prison I was working inthe staff mess, as a barista. Then thejob came up at Tap, that they neededa barista. So he put me forward, andthat was it. I went and started there…Iworked there in the last nine monthsof my sentence.After I was released I was offered arole at Tap Social, but the distancewas too far for me to travel for one,and the money didn't make sensebecause I was a self-employedpainter decorator at the time, workingwith family, and as soon as I got out Iwas back at normal work. Not a lot ofpeople can do that.The biggest benefit for me personally was just reintegrating back into societyagain. I was away for nearly two years without going out, so going there was justgetting back to normal, like seeing the new plastic notes and the new poundcoins, and people paying for stuff on their watches and their phones. That was alla learning curve for me, so that got me back into a bit of normality and change.I'd never been in customer service or anything like that before, so it was differentfor me, and I did enjoy it, speaking to different people every day, dealing withcustomers. Because what I was doing at the time, painting and decorating, Iliterally spoke to the same site manager every single day, and that was it.Dealing with different people was good for my confidence, especially since Ihadn't been speaking to people for a little while, or only the same people everyday. I would say it built me a different side to my armory, if you want to call itthat, that I didn't think I had. Prior to going to prison, I would never go up to a siteagent or another tradesman. I’d ask someone else, but then I built up my ownconfidence to go out and talk to different people.Greg’s Story14
Working with Tap was just so refreshing. They didn't judge like, oh, you've comefrom prison. They were literally treating me like what I was, a normal person. It'sthe stigma you have coming from prison, what I thought the outside public wouldhave thought. I was walking down the road thinking, when people look at me, “theyknow I'm from prison, they think I'm going to go and rob them or something”. Theyprobably threw that out the window within a week of me being there. That’s goodfor your confidence. On a daily basis it was always, Good Morning. How was yournight? Did you get up too much last night? In [old jobs in the past] I would justwalk in and they’d give me the car keys. That's it. I don't get a “how was yourweekend?” None of that. But it's like Tap cared.Working at Tap helped me get where I am now because listening to the Tap storyand how they started it all up… I thought to myself, if they can do that, why can't Ido it? So within six months of me being released I was saying, look, let's run our ownbusiness. I did a lot at Tap to run that place… and I was thinking, you know what? Iwant to do this. I did have a go at it…. and I basically run the business I work fornow. I don’t own it but I basically run it. I do everything. Talk to all the clients. Do allthe work. I speak to them on a daily basis. I’m happy to do it.Before, I did my 9 to 5, was getting my money at the end, and that was it. Now afterwork, I'm getting messages coming through my phone. I'm dealing with it at theweekend. I'm dealing with people and sorting stuff out for the week after. I thinkthat comes down to the confidence thing, because like I said, I wouldn't have donethat before. Someone else would have been dealing with everything.It kind of changed myperception of what I mighthave had in my headbeforehand about workingfor women. It wasn't what Iwas expecting. Themasking me how my day wasand at the end of the day,“goodbye, thank you verymuch for today”. No onehad ever said thank you forme just doing a job forthem. It has impacted how Iwork now… I talk to peopleat work in a different waybecause of that. The ladthat works with me now,every now and then I’ll say“thanks for today”.
extra holidayteam benefits16EMI SCHEMEso that our team canshare in oursuccesses and havea stake in our future25% discountfor our team and theirfriends and familiesan extra day of holidayfor each year ofservicetraining &developmentwe track training anddevelopment in Atlastop tappersan employee of themonth bonus torecognise our team’seffortscarry forwardour team can carryforward up to 5 days ofunused holiday
Jason has been Head Brewer at Tap Social sincethe very beginning after training at the Siebelinstitute of Technology in Chicago and theInstitute of Brewing and Distilling in London. Hebrings so much joy and passion for brewing andhas achieved Gold, Silver and Bronze medals forTap at the SIBA Beer awards for the last threeyears running. Team Spotlight17Becky joined us in 2021 to head up our accountsteam. As well as being excellent at her job, sheprovides a constant warm and positivemanagement presence across the organisation.She is able to deal calmly with any situation thatcomes her way whilst also looking aftereveryone and being approachable andsupportive to the wider team.JasonBeckyHead BrewerAccounts Manager & Team ListenerTerry joined Tap Social in 2022 as one of ourfirst Proof Bakehouse team members. After ayear away, we were delighted to welcome himback to the team this year as a brandambassador. He brings enthusiasm and energyto every situation and is passionate aboutraising awareness about the need for second-chance employment. TerryBrand Ambassador & Baker
When I was at Spring Hill prison I hadan internal job helping to organisejobs for ex-offenders. During thattime I presented about it at a boardmeeting; that’s when I first met Amy.She was part of the board and shethen reached out to me saying, doyou fancy a job? I had a lot ofexperience in operations and how todevelop a service from scratch. And Ithink she recognised that in my CVand some of the work I did. They offered me an operationsmanager job at Tap Social, across alltheir venues. That was to have anoverarching look at theirorganisation, make sure their healthand safety was sorted out, and makesure the governance was sorted out.My journey with them was for aboutnine months and then I got releasedso it was a short time. But they'regood guys to work for and theirphilosophy is quite inspirational Isuppose. When I was there I learned about the hospitality business which I knew absolutelynothing about. So that was an adventure. Then within their organisation I developeda business for them, a pizza business from scratch. I started off on an Excelspreadsheet, presented it to Paul and Amy and I said look you've got a hospitalityvenue, you're missing out on a trick here, you're getting other vendors to do food.So I took their big pizza oven, worked out costings for ingredients, did a price pointplan. They launched it and it ended up being very successful indeed. It generated alot of revenue for them. Also I got them through their health and safety and gotthem five stars across all their sites and dealt with the environmental officer.Because I understand regulations, and having good folders and files. So I like tobelieve I brought something to the table, and they gave me a wonderfulopportunity in a horrible time in my life. So it was a great relationship. dan’s Story18The biggest benefit for me was just getting out and feeling useful again. Youknow, having a purpose, otherwise you've got no purpose when you're oncamp. It was nice to use your brain and be stimulated and I think that's anice setup for anyone, not just me, when they get released. Because you'renot starting from zero, you may already be at 30 or 40 miles per hour. Sothere's a bit of momentum and purpose in your life. Coming out particularlywith a criminal record, it's very difficult to get a job and so they give you astepping stone to a better life.
I think that matches their re-offending rates really. If you can get people back toemployment, they're not going to re-offend. It works most of the time.The two words I would use are purpose and confidence. I thinkfundamentally it's a purpose, you have a purpose in life. And without apurpose, I think a human being goes astray. And with that, you getconfidence that you can develop new skills and you can walk backinto society - because you're going to be judged when you come out.What organisations like Tap do is make you feel more confident, makeyou have a purpose, develop your skillset. And it puts you on a betterfooting. That's how I'd summarise it really.It helped me because afterwards I was thinking, well, what am I going to do? How amI going to earn money? Switching to working in hospitality gave me the confidencethat I can do anything, even at my age, that I can find another vocation. For me, thatwas the biggest impact.I think Tap gave me the platform to have those transferable skills. I've set up aconsultancy company now, helping providers out with their regulations and that’sturning into a good business. So a lot of the regulation stuff I did for Tap inenvironmental health, I knew about it, but that gave me confidence to do it evenbetter. The platform was there within Tap. It had a huge impact for me.For Tap, it's not all about people in exactly the same situation. Actually, people inprison are all types of people. The common thing is you're giving people a purpose,you're giving them confidence. And you're giving them an opportunity to developskills or find transferable skills.I think they took a huge punt on me. I mean, I'm even shocked that they employedme as an operations manager with no experience in hospitality. So I think they took ahuge risk on me. And for that, I'm incredibly grateful. Until today, I'm very grateful tothem.They do treat you like a human being. They see through your crime, whatever it is.They're quite a unique bunch. I think it's beyond the word holistic. I just think they'vegot serious hearts of gold. Everything they do is so embedded in their ethos. Youknow, you hear organisations saying “our ethos is this” but that's a very goodexample of a company that actually delivers on their ethos. And you don't see thatin many organisations. But what they say is what they mean, and they deliver it. It issomething..They care about their producttoo. In terms of their products,and what they're trying to do,bringing along people with themwho have had horrendouscircumstances, that's an exampleof a true charitable socialenterprise that makes adifference to people's lives.
breweryProofBakehouseTaproomMarket TapProof CafeLock29Our Structure & Model20Tap SocialProduction Hospitalityday Release Employmentpost-Release Employmentonward EmploymentBuild confidence and skills, transition back into workenvironment, support family and plan for futureStable employment that continues beyond releasefrom prison to ensure smooth resettlement andsecure future, opportunity to work across sites tobroaden experience and skillsetSupport in taking next steps - next employment,return to hometown with skills, experience andconfidence to succeed
We run pop-up bars at events across thecounty, providing criminally good beer andbakes to attendees while raising awareness ofthe importance of second-chance employment. HOw We Work21Our brewery and bakery produce products foruse in our own venues as well as for stockistsnationwide. We provide pastries and bread toover a dozen outlets in Oxfordshire plus beer toover 150 licenced venues in the UnitedKingdom. Events & Pop UpsWholesaleBuilding CommunityBrewery & BakeryWe have four vibrant hospitality venues acrossOxfordshire, where people from alldemographics, ages, and walks of life cometogether. We host a wide range of events acrosseach venue and encourage members of thecommunity to use the spaces. HospitalityCommunity Cafes and Taprooms
a leading voice in thesocial enterprise community22We are long-standing and proudmembers of Social Enterprise UK (andproud winners of the 2024 nationalaward for Consumer Facing SocialEnterprise of the Year) and are also anaccredited ‘People and Planet First’social enterprise, according to theWorld Social Enterprise Forum.We use this platform as a recognisedleading social enterprise to help pushthe sustainability agenda across the UKthrough supporting the growth of thesocial enterprise community, whethermentoring early stage socialentrepreneurs or working with othermore established social enterprisesand charities to lobby government andbig business for positive change. Co-founder Paul chairs theEmployment Advisory Board at HMPBullingdon, working to improveemployment outcomes for thosereleased from that prison. Our social sustainability credentialshave been repeatedly recognised byothers over the last couple of years, forinstance through our co-founder Paul’sinclusion in the Meaningful Business100 awards, the national ‘empoweringpeople’ award at the SIBA businessawards, the purposeful business of theyear award, our co-founder Amy’syoung business person of the yearaward at the Oxfordshire BusinessAwards, and the ‘Consumer FacingSocial Enterprise of the Year 2024’ atthe SEUK National Awards.
UK Social EnterpriseAwards‘Consumer FacingSocial Enterpriseof the Year’Oxforshire BusinessAwards‘Business of the Year’‘Young Business Personof the Year’Society of IndependentBrewers AssociationAwards‘Empowering People’social impactrecognition in 202423Meaningful Business100 Winner
EnvironmentalSustainability24We have made significantimprovements in the last twoyears which have reduced ourenvironmental impact. We useonly recycled and recyclablepackaging materials, no/lowcarbon couriers and haveincorporated energy-savingmeasures into our productionprocesses. 66,780Kilowatt hours ofelectricity saved1288Cubic feet oflandfill saved31,220Litres of oil saved2023 & 2024 in numbers (Brewery)
Switched all of our energycontracts to green tariffsTailored our primary brewingschedule to enable back-to-back brews, maximisingefficiency of heat recyclingInstalled energy efficientlighting (LED) where possibleat all sites, and ensure that allreplacement bulbs usedacross the business are LEDon an ongoing basisEncouraged and promotedflexible, remote workingpractices internallyImplemented a new AI-drivenbrewery software for deliveryroute optimisation to cutdown on carbon emissionsand hours on the roadUndertook an energy assessmentat our commercial bakery withOxfordshire Greentech as part ofthe ZCOP IndustrialDecarbonisation Project, and areworking towards implementing itsrecommendations Were awarded a decarbonisationgrant by the Vale of White HorseDC in 2024 to move a growingproportion of our in-housedelivery capability over to a 0emissions electric vehicle in 2025Partnered with Velocity(a zero-emissions courier)to undertake all wholesaledeliveries from new bakeryFound a stable arrangementwith a farmer local to our newbrewery site for spent grainfrom brewing to be collectedand used as animal feedrather than being disposed ofas food waste
Governance26Our advisory board is madeup of senior and experiencedbusiness leaders and criminaljustice subject-matterexperts (including an OxfordUniversity Vinerian Professorof Criminal Law and a sittingCircuit Judge) as well ascolleagues with livedexperience of prison and ofTap Social employment. TheBoard acts as a critical friendto our management teamand provides regular adviceand input on decisions onboth the commercial andsocial impact strategy of theorganisation, whilst helpingto hold the managementteam accountable.Advisory BoardSocial Impact GovernanceOur governing documentsincorporate a profitreinvestment clause,meaning that a minimum of51% of our profits arereinvested to support oursocial mission.We are grateful to have beensupported by numerousorganisations in the last twoyears, including SocialInvestment Business andUnLtd., and we provideregular reporting to both ofthem on commercial andsocial impact to remainaccountable.Reporting
2023-24 in Numbers27Visitors to our venuesSites in Oxfordshire25%Of all paid hours ofemployment across thecompany were workedby people withexperience of prisonEvents heldWholesale customersEmployees withexperience of prisonSocial media followersPints of lifechanging beersold milestonereachedOf all our production andhospitality teams haveexperience of prison500K59771962840K1M31%We are very fortunate to have a supportivecommunity around us, championing our work andinspiring us to do more. Our impact has two main strands: directemployment and advocacy. Here is what we haveachieved through our direct employmentprogramme since 2023.We are a small, independent but growingorganisation. Our mission is best served byreaching new audiences, so that we can spreadour messages of inclusive recruitment and secondchance employment. Supporting us helps to turnlives around.CommunityCommercialImpact
refining our modelopening new venuesincreasing our B2B revenueKey Strategic Goals for 202528launching into national retail -getting ‘cans in hands’increasing campaigns and advocacyworkforming key strategic partnershipsCommercialImpactEnsuring the long-term sustainabilityor our organisation by:Reach new audiences by:appointing a chairpersonappointing non-executive directorsbecoming B-Corp CertifiedGovernanceImprove our governance structures by:
Members of29Partners
Impact data30Sources and further resourcesThis report uses data that was collected in 2024 by an independentinformation insights analyst, who conducted surveys and interviewswith current and former Tap Social employees with experience ofprison. This data was anonymised and analysed prior to us receivingit. 24 survey results were received, plus a large number oftestimonials, stories and feedback, many of which we have includedhere in part or in full.The report also relies on quantitative data that we collect on anongoing basis. The period covered in this report is 1 January 2023-31 December 2024.Tap Social is a fully independent social enterprise that is fundedthrough its trading activities.The statistics in this report were obtained from the Prison ReformTrust’s Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, published February 2024.For further insights into the state of our prisons, please see:Prison Reform Trust Bromley Briefings FactfileMinistry of Justice Quarterly StatisticsHoward League for Penal ReformUnlockClinks
Contact Us31info@tapsocialmovement.comtapsocialmovement.comUnit 27 Curtis Industrial EstateNorth Hinksey LaneOxford OX2 0LXTap social movement ltd.