Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to improve the (a) education and (b) literacy of adults in prison; and if he will make a statement.

We are delivering a new Prisoner Education Service to improve the literacy, numeracy and vocational skills of prisoners. This will support positive employment outcomes and reduce reoffending.

This year we have appointed new Heads of Education Skills and Work and Neurodiversity Support Managers to more than 100 prisons, introducing senior educational expertise and knowledge to improve support for prisoners with additional learning needs; developed a new reading assessment tool and rolled out whole prison reading strategies in all prisons; and committed £1.8m to charities to pilot new reading initiatives. We have also enabled prisoners released on temporary licence to undertake apprenticeships.

This week, we have opened a major competition for new Core Education contracts. These will go live from 2025 and be focussed on improving outcomes and delivering value for money.