Conservative Party plans for prison reform: UCU letter to the media

4 March 2008

Dear editor,

We are pleased to see the Conservative Party shine a spotlight on the rehabilitation of prisoners through its recent policy paper, Prisons with a Purpose.

In the document, David Cameron sets out his vision for independent ‘prison and rehabilitation trusts’ which would supervise the rehabilitation of offenders both during and after incarceration. The document criticises the lack of existing successful prison education, and hails the solution as ‘third sector providers’ to educate and train offenders both inside prison and after release. 

In fact, prison education, carried out under the direction of the national Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) has improved in quality, as testified by Ann Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons, in her recent annual report where she concluded that, 'the quality, if not always the quantity of education and skills is improving'. Funding for offender learning rose from £57m in 2001/2 to £151 million in 2005/6, while our members have been steadily improving the teaching of offenders: the Adult Learning Inspectorate’s annual reports show that the ‘inadequacy’ rating for learning and skills in prisons fell every year between 2002 and 2005.
 
And OLASS, funded by the same organisation that plans and funds further education colleges, the Learning and Skills Council, already works with offenders both in and out of custody: on release ex-prisoners are able to enrol at their local college.

The Conservatives’ call for more third sector providers of prison education threatens the professional standards, job security, and pay and conditions of those already teaching in prisons. The inevitable fragmentation would be detrimental to the quality of offenders’ education and training both inside and outside the prison walls. 

Sally Hunt
General secretary
University and College Union