UCU tells MPs' committee that prison education needs more funding

On 2 July, UCU acting general secretary Paul Cottrell appeared in front of the Justice Select Committee to discuss the impact of changes to prison governance on education.

During the session Paul raised major concerns about new one-year contracts for some prison education provision, saying they increased complexity, made provision less stable and posed a risk to the quality of prison education. He also said the short-term nature of the contracts suggested that some types of education were less important, but reinforced the point that all types of prison education have an important role in rehabilitating offenders.

Paul also highlighted threats to the safety of prison education staff, citing recent research by UCU and other unions which showed shocking levels of violence against staff in prisons. He said the new commissioning arrangements for prison education made it harder to challenge prison governors over health and safety issues. He called for longer, more stable contracts and more investment in both prison education and the wider prison regime to address these concerns.