Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparative assessment they have made of the levels of pay for education staff (1) working in prisons, and (2) not working in prisons.

Education within the prison setting in England is contracted out and teacher pay, therefore, is a matter for the contract suppliers. There is no requirement in the contracts to agree such matters with the Ministry of Justice.

Providers of contracted services play an important role in the prison estate and we continue to monitor the delivery of Prisoner Education Services to raise prisoners’ levels of numeracy, literacy, skills and qualifications with the aim of helping them secure jobs or apprenticeships on their release.