UCU response to Justice Committee inquiry

UCU has submitted a response to the Justice Committee's inquiry into prison population and the ageing infrastructure of the estate. Our response focuses on the impact that prison officer and prison education staff shortages have on education provision, which will only get worse as prison populations are forecast to rise. Chief Inspector for Prisons Charlie Taylor's recent statement said that one in ten prisons are not fit for purpose, with 'too few staff and inadequate facilities for retraining and education'.

Recruitment and retention of prison educators is a known issue, and creates a vicious cycle with increased pressure on remaining staff. None of this is conducive to a positive teaching and learning environment, if prisoners are even able to access the classroom. A shortage of prison officer staff can mean that prisoners are not able to be escorted to classes.

On 18 October 2023, Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy asked the Secretary of State for Justice how many classes did not go ahead due to a lack of teachers or prison officers. The response was that this information is not collected centrally, which raises concerns about how the problem can be managed if the scale is currently unknown. It also begs the question of whether education is a priority for the Ministry of Justice.

UCU believes that some of these problems can only be solved through nationalisation of the prison education service, returning prison education to the Department for Education and a national contract for prison educators. We will share our response to this inquiry after it has been published by the Justice Committee.

You can read our full submission here.