Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 39
39
Deferred
Remove the six-year funding requirement to enable all prisoners to access higher education
Recommendation
Access to higher education should be based on rehabilitative potential, not sentence length. We repeat the recommendation of the previous Education Select Committee and encourage the Government to remove the six-year funding requirement to enable all prisoners to access higher education. (Recommendation, Paragraph 171)
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts, committing to reviewing the Justice and Education Select Committee’s recommendations on access to student finance for prisoners, including the six-year funding rule, to inform future policy decisions. It notes existing work with partners and charitable grants for some prisoners.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Partially Accept. The MoJ is committed to enabling prisoners to access higher education while in custody. We already work with partners such as the Prisoners Education Trust and the Open University to widen access for higher education for prisoners, and some prisoners can study degrees funded through charitable grants provided by the Longford Trust. The Ministry of Justice and Department for Education will review the Justice and Education Select Committee’s recommendations on access to student finance for prisoners. MoJ will consider the costs and benefits and use this to inform future policy decisions.