Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department provides support for prisoners to help them continue improving their literacy skills after release.

A key aim of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) prison education service is to support prisoners to develop their functional literacy skills so that they can be fully rehabilitated into society upon release. Prisoners have access to local further education colleges in the community, and prison libraries can work with local libraries to ensure prisoners can register for services upon release.

Post-release, male ex-prisoners with education needs are signposted towards existing services including Creating Future Opportunities, which supports prisoners to address barriers to accessing opportunities, such as low levels of literacy, Department for Work and Pensions, and other local provisions. For women on probation, the Women’s Services contracts deliver holistic wraparound support that in addition to the specific ETE pathway, offers other support services to women that increase their ability to progress in education.