Prisons: Education

(asked on 14th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were engaged in learning and skills in prisons in each of the last five years.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 19th March 2019

Data on the participation and achievement of prison learners under the Offender Learning and Skills contracts is published by the Department for Education. It can be found at the following link and covers the last 8 academic years: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761349/201718_Nov_MAIN_OLASS_Particpation_FINALv1.xlsx.

We do not hold data on the proportion of the prison population that engages in offender learning and skills. The Department for Education publishes data on the participation and achievement of prisoners in learning: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-education-and-training. However, it does not include comparison to the entire population, this prison population data is published separately by the Ministry of Justice: www.gov.uk/government/collections/prisons-and-probation-statistics#prison-population-figures.

The concept of a core common curriculum for prison education was written into the specifications for the new prison education framework contracts, which commence on 1 April. For the 2015/16 academic year, the Department for Education published data regarding prison education by subject area, it can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572740/201516-OLASS-participation-aims-by-awarding-body-aim-title-and-level-v1_4.xlsx

Prisons must provide the opportunity for prisoners to rehabilitate, which will ultimately reduce reoffending. Our ground-breaking Education and Employment strategy sets out how we will transform our approach to ensure prisoners develop the skills they need to secure employment on release. We are also giving governors more control over their budget, including the power to choose providers and deliver learning that will best support their prisoners.

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