Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Paragraph: 107
Prison Education is in a perilous state due to a continual decline in funding.
Conclusion
Prison Education is in a perilous state due to a continual decline in funding. The Government has not increased funding for prison education for the last five years. The current prison regime contains many barriers to the successful delivery of prison education. Without significant investment in the prison estate, in buildings, classrooms, equipment and technology, prisoners will not be able to get the skills and qualification that they need to find employment and turn their lives around. The Ministry of Justice must undertake an audit across the whole prison estate on the quality of physical infrastructure necessary to provide a high level of education, such as libraries, classrooms and workshops. The Ministry of Justice must establish clear guidelines about the minimum standards of provision for education across the prison estate.
Paragraph Reference:
107
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
We reject this recommendation. The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our 10-year vision to deliver a transformed Prisoner Education Service with a focus on giving prisoners the skills and opportunities to secure a job on release. With the investment agreed at the Spending Review, we are injecting £550m over the next three years to support prison leavers’ transition back into society and reduce reoffending. This includes additional budget to support investment in a digital and data platform needed to develop personal learning plans for prisoners; better support for literacy and numeracy and building stronger links with employers. We have already started this work through the recruitment of new Education, Works and Skills Specialists and Support Managers for prisoners with conditions such as learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury or ADHD. However, budgets for future years are subject to future Spending Review negotiations so we are unable to set out a 10-year budget.