Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of reducing educational programmes funding in female prisons on the level of (a) rehabilitation and (b) reoffending.

The Government recognises the distinct needs of women in custody and the critical role education plays in rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. The national education budget has not been reduced.

However, many prisons in the female estate (as well as the male estate) are having to reduce some elements of delivery due to the rising costs of provision.

Education is only one element of rehabilitation, and we continue to invest in skills and employability training for women, for example HMPPS' Future Skills Programme is supporting women in HMP/YOI Low Newton and HMP/YOI New Hall with the skills required to work in customer service roles. We also support women to desist from crime through housing support on release with a minimum of 10% of temporary accommodation beds reserved for women and nine dedicated Strategic Housing Specialists working across the female estate.

The new Prisoner Education Service includes a secure, standardised IT system across all public sector prisons in England, with Wi-Fi now available in education areas enabling improved internet access and data collection. In two women’s prisons, the Launchpad programme is now providing Wi-Fi across the whole site and in-cell laptops. These digital improvements are intended to support learning, wellbeing, and rehabilitation, better preparing women for employment on release.