The volume of core education delivered in prisons across England will reduce by up to 25 per cent, ministers have admitted.
Regulators and MPs have sounded the alarm over reported cuts to prison education budgets since new Prison Education Service (PES) contracts came out last October.
The Ministry of Justice consistently maintained there was no cut to the total budget in cash terms, but acknowledged it had not kept up with “significant” rises to the cost of delivering education in prisons.
In a response to a justice select committee report, prisons minister Lord Timpson today admitted “some” prisons faced a reduction in education delivery hours due to “difficult” decisions made to maximise value for money.
Nationally, the government expects a reduction of between 20 to 25 per cent to the volume of core education, which offers prisoners literacy and numeracy courses up to level 2, as well as ICT and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses.
MPs said the cuts to prison education delivery hours risked jeopardising prison rehabilitation, and called the ministerial response to their concerns “both weak and disappointing”.
Jon Collins, chief executive of Prisoners’ Education Trust, said the cuts were now “beginning to bite”.
“We are seeing courses axed, staff made redundant, and support for people with additional needs put at risk,” he said.
Paul Bridge, head of further education at University and College Union, this month estimated around 300 teaching staff had been made redundant and warned more would follow.
‘Revised’ funding formula to be rolled out
Prisons were informed of their budgets under the new PES for October 2025 to March 2027 last April. Nearly £148 million was earmarked for core prison education across 94 jails.
Provision is delivered by three procured providers: Milton Keynes College, PeoplePlus, and Novus, part of Manchester-based LTE group.
Earlier this month, arms-length body the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) accused the Prison Service of downplaying cuts after finding evidence through a survey of prisons of “seismic” reductions to core education and “dramatic” cuts to Dynamic Purchasing System budgets.
Timpson was urged to explain the IMB’s findings of budget cuts that extended “far beyond” inflation which “appears to contradict” statements given by the Prison Service.
Today’s response by the government rejected the accusations of large budget reductions.
“The national prison education budget has not been cut. However, the cost of delivering high-quality education has increased significantly in recent years,” said a government spokesperson.
“Although the budget has slightly increased in cash terms, it has not kept pace with these rising costs. This has meant some prisons are facing a reduction in education delivery hours.”
The government confirmed it had calculated a “revised” funding formula to ensure “fair” allocation to prisons based on population numbers and regional cost differences.
It said this means some prisons will see bigger reductions and some could receive an increase.
The government stressed that the changes only apply to core education contracts and do not affect libraries, careers advice or vocational training.
The justice select committee’s inquiry into reoffending and rehabilitation demanded that the government set out plans to ensure “all prisons retain the funding necessary to deliver core education provision”.
The government’s response was that future funding “is depending on cross-government spending decisions”.
Justice committee chair Andy Slaughter said: “It’s deeply concerning to hear core education provision is being reduced despite the government’s own recognition of the positive impact that education has on reducing reoffending and the committee’s recommendation to improve both participation and quality in prison education.
“Access to learning is crucial and any reduction risks jeopardising rehabilitation efforts.”
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