§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners discharged from their sentence were at level 1 or below for literacy and numeracy skills in each year since 1998 to the latest available date. [69300]
§ Hilary BennThe figures published by the Prison Service are as follows:
Percentage discharged at level 1 or below for Numeracy Literacy 2000–01 67.6 76.5 2001–02 65.7 77.6 No comparable data were collected before 2000–01. From 2000–01, delivery targets for literacy and numeracy in prisons have been for the number of basic skills qualifications achieved annually by prisoners. In 2000–01, prisoners achieved 12,500 basic skills qualifications at level 2, rising to nearly 16,000 in 2001–02. Targets for this year and next have been widened to cover the achievement of basic skills qualifications at all levels. This will help establishments to be more responsive to the range of prisoners' basic skills needs.
The Government expects prisoners to achieve 28,800 basic skills qualifications in 2002–03 rising to 32,000 in 2003–04. By helping to equip prisoners with the skills they need to resettle effectively back into the community on release, these achievements will contribute to reduced rates of re-offending and to making communities safer.