Prisons: Education

Debate between Baroness Wilcox of Newport and Lord Bellamy

Thursday 23rd March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bellamy (Con)]

I agree with the noble Lord that the Prison Service needs to be equipped, and I respectfully suggest that it is. There are a whole range of things here. There is the core curriculum, which is made up of English, maths and digital skills; vocational courses, such as construction; personal development courses; and digital personal learning plans. I assure the House that the Government are on the case and working hard to improve matters.

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, the Open University offers a range of introductory access modules funded by the Prisoners’ Education Trust, under the banner of “Steps to Success”. They have been specifically designed to help students find out what it is like to study with the OU, get a taste of a subject area, develop study skills and build confidence. As a former teacher, I can tell your Lordships that those things are vital. Does the prison estate have the facilities to offer such excellent distance learning, and who would meet the cost of these courses that are on offer?

[Lord Bellamy (Con)]

My Lords, there is a problem within the prison estate in relation to distance learning from external providers, because most prisons do not have external access to the internet. There is an intranet, and it may well be that in due course organisations like the Open University are encouraged to access that facility. But I take the noble Baroness’s question and will investigate further.