Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria his Department will use to judge the effectiveness of the Education and Employment Strategy 2018 in improving education for adult prisoners.

Making prison Governors responsible and accountable for the education provision delivered in their individual prisons is a key focus of the strategy. This includes giving them control of their education budgets, deciding on the curriculum to be delivered and playing a role in choosing the provider(s) of their education delivery to best meet the needs of their prisoners.

To measure planned and actual improvements in educational performance, we will assess that the prison infrastructure supports education;

• that prison education is fully integrated into all aspects of prison life;
• that those in custody are assessed at the start and end of their sentences;
• and that providers and their staff work flexibly and collaboratively to deliver high quality educational provision.

We will also ensure that education is available in every prison; that prisoners all have a personal learning plan linked to their sentence plan; and that provision is suitable to address the needs of the those concerned. Governors will also need to be aware of the needs of their population and commission suitable provision that is linked to local employment needs, so that those released from prison can gain employment.

Progress will be measured via improvements in the Ofsted ratings awarded, ensuring that there is an increase in the percentage of prisons receiving “Good” or “Outstanding” ratings for education delivery.