Oral Answers to Questions

William Wragg Excerpts

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Frazer]

My hon. Friend raises a technical point about the offences that are available. In fact, there are two: criminal damage; and an offence under animal welfare legislation. Both attract a penalty of up to six months and, as she may be aware, DEFRA has identified that it is looking to increase the sentence to five years.

[Mr William Wragg (Hazel Grove) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners can obtain education and skills while in prison in order to reduce reoffending rates.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Rory Stewart)]

To address education in prison, Dame Sally Coates’s report makes three key recommendations: first, to carry out an individual survey of a prisoner’s educational needs when they enter prison; secondly, to make sure that governors have more control over education provision to reflect the needs of the prison or local area; and, thirdly, to make sure that English and maths are a core part of that curriculum.

[Mr Wragg]

A 2017 report said that the quality of education in English and Welsh prisons was generally good, but it found that poor attendance and punctuality of prisoners often went unchallenged and that the process of moving prisoners to learning, skills and work activities from the wings was often ineffective and poorly managed. What is being done to address those problems?