Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether in-cell digital training is in use in HM prisons; whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of in-cell digital training in other jurisdictions; and if he will make a statement.

Currently prisoners in HMP Wayland and HMP Berwyn have access to in-cell technology.

As well as being able to undertake basic tasks, such as ordering their canteen and booking visits, prisoners have access to a platform called the Content Hub, which provides them with content to help them progress through their sentence, and to cope when in custody. The in-Cell technology does not allow access to the internet.

The Content Hub provides bite-sized courses, such as health and fitness in prison, learning to read, basic maths and food hygiene. This content is provided by education providers, Way2Learn and People Plus.

We have not yet conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the bite-sized training, however we are exploring further opportunities to pilot more structured educational content, such as further and higher education courses, in-cell. The benefits and impact of doing this will be assessed and will inform any further roll-out.