Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 28 March 2022 to Question 144980, Prisons: Education, how many meetings his officials in his Department has held with representatives of relevant trade unions on the Prisoner Education Service.

We are delivering a Prisoner Education Service within this Parliament to raise prisoners’ levels of numeracy, literacy, skills and qualifications with the aim of helping them secure jobs or apprenticeships on their release. To do this, we must give prisons the tools they need to succeed. We will invest in digital infrastructure, more training that delivers the skills employers need, more education experts to support Governors and improved support for prisoners with additional learning needs.

To deliver this vision, we are currently running a series of engagement events, drawing on the expertise of stakeholders across the education and justice sectors.

HMPPS holds regular meetings with its recognised trade unions to share information and invite feedback on operational developments and proposals. As prison education staff are not employed by HMPPS, their union representatives are not part of these regular consultations. We have engaged with these representatives, however, as part of our wider engagement activity.