Written question asked by Peter Lloyd (Conservative) on Thursday, 5 November 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 11 November 1998. It was answered by George Howarth (Labour) on Wednesday, 11 November 1998 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what data he has collated on the ability profiles of young offenders. - Inc table.

Answer: Sir Peter Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what data he has collated on the ability profiles of young offenders. [59077] Mr. George Howarth: I have been asked to reply. The Prison Service collates information on literacy and numeracy standards among prisoners from basic skills screening tests carried out near the beginning of sentences. The tests are not compulsory and not all prisoners are screened. The results of the basic skills assessments in 1997 for juveniles and young offenders are given in the table. There are no centrally collated statistics across the probation service in England and Wales concerning the ability profiles of young offenders. Juvenile/young prisoners basic skills assessment tests--1997 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Standard (%) {1} Test Number tested Below level 1 At level 1 Above level 1 Literacy 8,697 30 38.5 31.5 Numeracy 8,633 43.6 38.8 17.6 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Standard: Level 1 indicates basic functionality in literacy and/or numeracy, above level 1 is higher while below level 1 indicates a clear deficit in literacy and/or numeracy

Secondary information