Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 35
35
Rejected
Paragraph: 188
Publish strategy to address education data gaps for incarcerated women, ensuring public availability
Recommendation
It is clear that there is a gap in education data for women, which makes it difficult to provide education that meets the specific needs that women may present with. We do not know their educational needs, whether they have learning disabilities, and nor do we know their qualification levels, thus making it difficult to pitch education to women at the right level. The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS, alongside education providers, should set out how they are working to address this data gap and ensure that data is collected and made available publicly.
Government Response Summary
The government explicitly rejected the recommendation, claiming the issue is already being addressed through other means. However, the subsequent explanation focused solely on strategies for reducing homelessness and providing accommodation services for prison leavers, including gender-specific provision and increasing women in open conditions, rather than addressing education data gaps for women.
Paragraph Reference:
188
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
We do not accept this recommendation because this is already being delivered through other means. The Ministry of Justice, working together with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Welsh Government and Other Government Departments, is delivering its strategic vision for reducing reoffending (as detailed in the Prison Strategy White Paper and Beating Crime Plan) and delivering against the Government’s manifesto commitment to eliminate rough sleeping by the end of the current Parliament (Ending Rough Sleeping for Good). This approach was set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper and a key part of this is to ensure that no one who is subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless. Part of this work includes plans for supporting women with accommodation needs on release, including ensuring that 10% of beds in the temporary accommodation service are allocated to women in women-only properties so that they feel safe, while increasing the number of women categorised to open conditions and reviewing the use of ROTL to smooth the transition back to society.