Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were participating in higher education courses as of 5 January 2024.

As higher education is predominantly undertaken outside the core education contracts, the available figures are those we receive from the Open University (OU) on prisoners attending its courses. The OU reports that on 5 January 2024, 1761 prisoners were undertaking its courses. In addition, a number of prisoners are undertaking Level 4 courses with other providers, and H M Prison & Probation Service funds the Prisoners Education Trust, which provides access modules for prisoners and distance learning courses.