Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners completed courses in prison last year.

From April 2021 until 28 March 2022, 42,657 prisoners started 107,076 courses in total. In the same time period, 42,574 prisoners completed 104,827 courses in total.

Information on the proportion of prisoners entering prison without qualifications and who leave with improved literacy in the last five years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information on participation and outcomes for prisoners in English and Maths is published. Statistics for 2018 to 2020 were released last August and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-education-statistics-2019-2020.

Through our Prisons Strategy White Paper, we will deliver a Prisoner Education Service that raises levels of numeracy and literacy – helping offenders to gain the skills and qualifications needed to secure jobs or apprenticeships on release and in turn reducing reoffending.