Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of one-year contracts on the (a) quality and (b) oversight of education in prisons.

It remains our intention to undertake a full future assessment of the impact of our prison education reforms in due course. This will include the particular impact of the Prison Education Framework and prison education Dynamic Purchasing System.

The Education and Employment Strategy, published in May 2018, set out ambitious plans to give prison governors power and control over the education arrangements in their establishments. The Prison Education Framework and prison education Dynamic Purchasing System are key elements of that reform, enabling a governor to determine what their curriculum is, how it is delivered and who delivers it.

These arrangements will ensure a tailored and consistent approach to delivery as well as attracting and enabling smaller local suppliers and third sector organisation to participate in delivering a varied and responsive mix of provision to prisoners.