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Written question asked by Paul Davies (Labour) on Thursday, 20 March 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 March 2025. It was answered by Nicholas Dakin (Labour) on Thursday, 27 March 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Literacy

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to (a) measure and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of literacy programs in prisons.

Answer

We have robust evidence on the positive benefits of education to reducing reoffending, however, we don’t have specific evidence for the link between literacy levels and reoffending. We are currently improving our understanding of factors influencing participation in different prison education types, including literacy courses, through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme.

This learning will continue to support our evolving understanding of what more we can do to improve literacy in prisons. We are also investing in an evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service which will include the delivery of functional English skills.

The success of formal literacy education is primarily measured by prisoners ‘achieving’ and getting an accredited qualification. Latest published data (for 2023/24) shows a 5% increase in participation in English functional skills and a 21% increase in prisoner learners who achieved a full grade in English functional skills, compared to 2022/23, across public prisons in England

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
40134
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Prisons Standards Literacy
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk