Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many prisoners have completed university degrees inside prison in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost to the public purse was of that education.

Most prisoners who study higher education (HE) in custody do so through the Open University (OU). The table below shows the number of prisoners in England who have completed OU degrees whilst in prison from academic year 2003/04. Prior to September 2012, the costs of prisoners' tuition were met from public funds in an arrangement that broadly mirrored the grant arrangements for other part-time HE students. The OU's additional costs for delivering in custody are met through a grant from the Department. We do not have information on the public funding for these specific learners. From September 2012, prisoners have been required to take out, and then repay, tuition fee loans in the same way as other learners.

Number of prisoners completing Open University degrees in prisons from 2003/04