Oliver Heald
Main Page: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)Department Debates - View all Oliver Heald's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(6 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lucy Frazer
I think the hon. Lady will have been pleased to see a paragraph in relation to extradition in the future framework.
Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)
Ministers will be aware of the very low attainment in reading among prisoners. Is anything being done to try to improve the situation? I understand that the average reading age in a prison is 11.
Rory Stewart
It is a very serious problem. As my right hon. and learned Friend has pointed out, almost half the prisoners have a reading age of under 11. Perhaps 25% of prisoners have a reading age of six. There is an enormous amount that we can do and that is where the education and employment strategy comes in, which is about making sure that the education is relevant and leads to a job.