Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average number and proportion of hours spent by prisoners per (a) week and (b) month in (i) education-based classes and (ii) workshops in prison as of 13 October 2023.

Because of the way in which data on education in prison are collected, it is not possible to provide a direct answer to the question posed, but prisons put on education classes and workshops 4.5 days a week, for approximately 5 - 6 hours a day, with local variations in place.

While staff shortages can have some impact on education delivery, we are increasingly using technology and blended learning to increase the flexible delivery of education outside of the classroom. Attendance to education is higher now than it was before the pandemic lockdown in March 2020.