MPs and peers from across the political spectrum have condemned the failed privatisation of prison education and called for the service to be brought back into public ownership to support the rehabilitation of prisoners.
In a House of Lords debate over prison education, Baroness Blower, a Labour life peer and former general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, described prison education as "fundamental to rehabilitation" and called for it to be brought back into the public sector, "with standardised curricula and qualifications - so important when prisoners are moved - and standardised education staff contracts to assist with recruitment and retention".
In the debate, crossbencher Baroness Meacher also raised the "potential benefits of doubling the prison education budget", while Conservative Lord Cormack asked the Government to provide statistics on the impact of education on reoffending rates, with Minister Lord Bellamy pledging to "investigate whether we can publish that further information".
The debate came after 32 MPs signed a parliamentary motion by Labour's Zarah Sultana calling on the Government "to use their pledged launch of a Prisoner Education Service to bring the delivery of prison education back into the public sector, with standardised qualifications, curricula and staff contracts".
