§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Home Office Research Study on cognitive skills programmes and two-year reconviction rates for offenders. [136259]
§ Paul GogginsThe latest evaluation of prison-based cognitive skills programmes was reported in Home Office Research Finding 206 published in July 2003. The study found no difference in two-year reconviction rates for offenders who participated in programmes and a matched comparison group for the period 1996 to 1998. This study contrasted with Home Office Research Finding 161 published in 2002, which found a statistically significant reduction in two-year 93W reconviction rates for programme participants between 1994 and 1996 compared to a matched comparison group. Both studies involved adult male prisoners.
The latest findings relate to a period when programmes were rapidly expanded and this may have affected their delivery and outcomes. Further research is needed to determine in greater detail which programmes are suitable for particular offenders. A third Home Office study of cognitive skills programmes in prisons for the period 1998 to 2000 is expected to be published before the end of the year. A Home Office study evaluating cognitive skills programmes in the community between 2000 and 2001 is expected to report reconviction outcomes before the end of 2004.