Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : UK to launch new health programme to combat child malnutrition in Timor-Leste [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 September 2023.

Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, will visit Timor-Leste 29 Sept-2 Oct to launch a UK-UNICEF programme combating child malnutrition.
- UK to boost health collaboration with Timor-Leste with launch of new UK-UNICEF Health Programme
- Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan to reiterate UK support for Timor-Leste’s upcoming accession to The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- she will also attend a UN Women event, enabled by ASEAN-wide UK funding, to promote women’s participation in security, conflict resolution and development policy
To enhance UK-Timor-Leste collaboration on health and development, UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan will arrive in Timor-Leste today (Friday 29 September) for a 3-day visit. The visit will be the first by a UK minister since Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002.

Minister Trevelyan will hold high-level talks with Timorese counterparts including President Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas. Discussions will focus on opportunities to deepen cooperation between the 2 countries on health and development, including through a UK-UNICEF Health Programme to help combat child malnutrition which the Minister will launch during her visit.

Supported by £1 million of UK government funding, the programme will train community volunteers and establish support groups to encourage and advise parents on healthy food practices.

Minister Trevelyan will also attend a Women in Leadership event co-organised by the Government of Timor-Leste and UN Women. This event is supported by UK funding to UN Women, part of a wider £3.2 million UK-ASEAN programme announced earlier this year. The programme will promote women’s roles in peace and security initiatives throughout Southeast Asia.

The visit comes in an important year for Timor-Leste, as it accedes to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the foremost political and economic bloc in the region. Minister Trevelyan will reiterate the UK’s sustained support for Timor-Leste’s accession, with the UK having become an ASEAN Dialogue Partner in 2021. Southeast Asia is a global centre of economic growth and prosperity, and the UK’s engagement as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner supports the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy.

Ahead of the visit, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

As an ASEAN Dialogue Partner, the UK continues to work closely with partners across Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific to secure sustainable peace and prosperity in the region and address the challenges of the future

On my first visit to Timor-Leste, I look forward to discussing opportunities to enhance our bilateral relationship and collaboration on shared health and development priorities.

We remain steadfast in our support of Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN as a key partner on the global stage.

The UK’s increased engagement with Timor-Leste demonstrates its long-term commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, in line with the Integrated Review Refresh published in March 2023.

In addition to development cooperation, the UK is supporting Timor-Leste to maintain regional stability, with Royal Navy vessel HMS Spey visiting Dili in August 2023.
October 2, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK funding for humanitarian response to events in Nagorno-Karabakh [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 September 2023.

The UK will give £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support the humanitarian response to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The UK has announced vital funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as it provides life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to vulnerable people in Nagorno-Karabakh and the wider region.

The £1 million funding will also support ICRC as it works to transport the wounded and help displaced families keep in contact.

Following a military operation by Azerbaijan to take full control of the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a significant portion of the ethnic Armenian population has left Karabakh for the neighbouring Republic of Armenia and face acute humanitarian challenges.

Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty said:

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has placed communities under immense pressure.

The UK’s financial package will help to protect families and provide crucial assistance to the most vulnerable people.

In calls with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan this week, Minister Docherty urged both sides to return to dialogue and ensure unfettered humanitarian access to vulnerable people and communities affected by events in Nagorno-Karabakh.

October 2, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Household goods to carry water efficiency labels [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 29 September 2023.

New eco-labels to will help save consumers money on their energy and water bills.
New eco-labels to help save consumers money on their energy and water bills

Labels will help reduce usage by 20% per person by 2038 and save an estimated £125 million on water bills over 10 years

Delivers on pledge in the government’s Plan for Water which sets out government action to protect our water resources

Toilets, sinks, dishwashers and washing machines will soon be sold with new water efficiency labels to help consumers reduce their water usage and save themselves money, the government has confirmed today (Friday 29 September).

This follows a public consultation to make water efficiency labelling mandatory by 2025, which received widespread support and is one of the pledges in the government’s Plan for Water. Products that will be subject to labelling include toilets, urinals, bathroom basin taps, shower outlet devices and shower assembly solutions, dishwashers, washing machines and combination washer-dryers.

The aim is for these labels to echo energy efficiency labels, with a category rating from A to F on household goods. The majority of respondents (74%) agreed that the proposal will help to reduce water consumption by 2038.

Water Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Labels are a simple and effective way to help the public save water when buying their next dishwasher or washing machine. Providing people with the information to make an informed choice means not only less water being wasted but also keeping bills lower too.

With demand for water growing and challenges from climate change, this government is acting to make sure England’s water system is resilient – and through our Plan for Water we’ve set out how more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement will help secure water resources for the future.

Based on 2019 prices, the label could help save £125 million on water bills and £147 million on energy bills over 10 years, and 1,200 million litres of water a day across the UK – equivalent to 480 Olympic swimming pools. These projections are based on research from the Energy Saving Trust, funded by Defra and Waterwise, which found that a mandatory government led label would lead people to adopt more water efficient behaviours. By encouraging them to choose a device labelled as highly water efficient, consumers will see decreased bills through water savings and subsequent energy savings related to hot water use.

The government will continue to engage with industry on further details, such as how each category will be defined and the visual design of the label. The government has set an ambitious target to reduce the use of public water supply per person by 20% by 2038. Water efficiency labelling will form a key part of this goal, as laid out in our Plan for Water.

The Environment Agency’s review of draft Regional Water Resource Plans found an additional 4,000 million litres of water a day will be needed in England by 2050 to meet future supply pressures. Approximately half of this amount will need to be delivered through demand management measures, including reducing leakage, and household and non-household consumption.

The Plan for Water, which was launched in April, brings together significant action already taken, along with more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement on those who pollute. This includes the launch of a new National Policy Statement for water resources infrastructure, to help key water supply infrastructure – such as reservoirs and water transfer schemes – be built more quickly.

This summer, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also published new advice for households on water efficiency to save energy.

Notes to editors

The government response to the consultation covers England, Wales and Scotland. The government response can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-mandatory-water-efficiency-labelling
October 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Minister hails ‘world-class’ exporters as new data shows UK businesses reach record highs [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 29 September 2023.

Revised figures from the Office for National Statistics indicates that the UK’s total exports in 2022 were worth £834 billion, up from £815 billion.

Exports Minister Malcolm Offord has praised the UK’s ‘world-class’ exporters as new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released today (29 September) shows UK exports performed even better than previously thought.

The figures reveal that the UK’s total exports in 2022 were worth a huge £834 billion, putting the UK well on the way to hitting its target of £1 trillion of exports a year by the end of the decade.

2022 was a record year for the UK’s services exports in particular as they topped £400 billion for the first time, and new ONS data estimates they were worth £411 billion in total last year – £10 billion higher than the original estimation of £401 billion.

The ONS have said this is due to more data becoming available and more accurate methodologies being used to calculate export values – particularly for education services exports.

Minister for Exports Lord Offord said:

This is fantastic news and shows our world-class exporting businesses are doing even better than first thought and selling more of the goods and services to the world.

The UK is a services superpower, hitting over £400 billion in exports for the first time last year, but we want to see even more businesses exporting, so we can hit our ambitious target of £1 trillion of exports a year by 2030.

We’re backing British business by knocking down trade barriers, signing new trade deals, giving expert advice via our Export Support Service and funding through UK Export Finance – our award-winning export credit agency.

Marco Forgione, Director General of the Institute of Export & International Trade said:

It’s positive to see improvements across a range of exports within both trade in goods and services.

The Institute of Export & International Trade’s recent report ‘Global horizons: realising the services exports potential of UK nations and regions’ demonstrates why we are a services powerhouse. It’s vital that we maintain our global advantage as an exporter of services and one of the key recommendations of our report was creating regional sector specialisations – which, if implemented, will improve regional outputs.

We have a clear pathway to continue this success and by focusing on our nations and regions we can work together with businesses to reap the benefits of entering new markets.

The ONS has today published an article setting out a detailed assessment of its changes to the export stats, available online on its website.

October 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Using NHS data to improve healthcare [September 2023]

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 29 September 2023.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty writes for The Times on how using data effectively and safely can improve patient care and bolster research.

This article was originally published in The Times and republished as a Government press release.

The NHS uses data every day for healthcare. All of us who use the NHS contribute to the data; all of us who use it benefit from the data being used effectively and safely. It serves three purposes all of which, done properly, improve healthcare now or in the future. The first is data for direct patient care. If data cannot be shared between different parts of the NHS, doctors and other healthcare professionals treating patients in one part of the NHS cannot access important information about us.

The second is to improve the effectiveness of the NHS. The third is to collate data for medical research to improve healthcare in the future. The more complete the data for all of these uses, the more effective current and future healthcare will be. By allowing the use of our data we benefit ourselves and others, but we also have an absolute expectation that these data will be kept securely, privately and only used for legitimate purposes.

Having our data shared across the NHS to assist directly in our own clinical care is a benefit to the great majority of patients in the NHS. We may receive care both from our GP and in hospital, and some people are treated in several different parts of the NHS. If a doctor or nurse in one part of the NHS does not know important facts from another, this can reduce the effectiveness of treatment and in some cases can be dangerous.

Currently the NHS has multiple data systems that do not talk to one another; we need to change that. Healthcare workers sometimes worry that sharing or accessing data might infringe some rule. When this is done in good faith for patient care, using standard guidelines and methods, it is extremely unlikely to cause any concern; indeed there is a strong clinical responsibility to share data when this will benefit an individual patient. The Information Commissioner, National Data Guardian and I have recently jointly written about this.

Using data integrated from patients across the NHS to improve its efficiency and effectiveness benefits us all. The more inclusive of everyone the data are, the easier it is for the NHS to make sure its resources are used efficiently to optimise healthcare for all of us. Covid-19 demonstrated this; by bringing together data from across the country and combining data from different parts of the system the NHS became steadily more effective at managing healthcare both for those who had Covid-19 and those needing care for other health problems. Knowing where there is ICU capacity, which A&E departments are under greater pressure, and optimising operation lists are all examples of things which need live, inclusive data.

The extraordinary improvements in health which have occurred as a result of medical research are the third area where using our patient data can be transformational. Again, taking Covid-19 as an example, we used data from patients from across the country, rapidly combined, to determine the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, drugs and other medical interventions.

Over a million UK citizens volunteered to take part in trials and other formal studies, and we should be very grateful to them. Many more contributed data which help to deliver new treatments, and assess their effectiveness for others in the future. Without data used in this way, the speed of medical improvements will be slowed down, and research aiming to improve future healthcare for diseases such as cancers or heart disease will be impossible.

People should know how their data is used and be involved in these decisions, so it is welcome that NHS England has today announced a programme of national conversations with the public on data policies and programmes. I encourage people to take part. The NHS has a responsibility to use data to improve individual patient care, its own effectiveness and support research. When we withhold our data from the NHS this can only reduce the effectiveness of care for us and others now, and medical advances for others in the future.

October 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK Denial of Benefits Notification [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 29 September 2023.

UK notification denying the advantages of Part III of the Energy Charter Treaty to the specified categories of investors of the Russian Federation.

The UK has taken the decision to exercise its right via notification to deny the benefits of the investment protection provisions within the Energy Charter Treaty to sanctioned Russian investors and Russian mailbox investors to ensure those investors cannot benefit from the treaty’s investment protection provisions.

Russia is not a Contracting Party to the Energy Charter Treaty. However, Russian owned or controlled investments that are structured through Contracting Parties could in some cases claim coverage under the Treaty and benefit from its investment protection provisions. This notification makes clear that those investors are not entitled to the benefits of those provisions, with respect to any investments made in the UK’s energy sector, where they are a sanctioned investor or a mailbox investor.

The United Kingdom hereby:

(i) denies, pursuant to Article 17 (1) of the Energy Charter Treaty (the “Treaty”), the advantages of Part III of the Treaty to all legal entities owned or controlled by any citizen(s) or national(s) of the Russian Federation where those entities have no substantial business activities in the Area of the Contracting Party in which they are organised; and

(ii) denies, pursuant to Article 17 (2) of the Treaty, the advantages of Part III of the Treaty to all Investments of Investors who:
- are Investors of the Russian Federation (within the meaning of Article 1.7 (b) of the Treaty); and
- are included in the UK Sanctions List (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list), as that list may be amended from time to time, or in any list issued in replacement thereof, or who are otherwise subject to any sanctions regime imposed or administered by the United Kingdom from time to time.
October 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Fund reinstated to deliver specialist mobility equipment for seriously injured veterans [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 29 September 2023.

A new £2.52 million Veterans’ Mobility Fund (VMF) is set to provide veterans across the UK with mobility equipment to improve their quality of life.
New Veterans’ Mobility Fund will deliver grants to former armed forces personnel with mobility needs

Government funding to be awarded by Help for Heroes in partnership with Blesma, The Limbless Veterans charity

Funding will enable veterans to access vital mobility equipment such as wheelchairs and scooters

A new £2.52 million Veterans’ Mobility Fund (VMF) is set to provide veterans across the UK with mobility equipment to improve their quality of life.

The fund will deliver grants and equipment to veterans with mobility needs linked to their service. This includes mobility aids that are not usually available through the NHS, such as specialist wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and different orthotics such as splints and braces.

The Armed Forces Covenant Trust, funded by the government, has awarded £2.52 million to Help for Heroes, in partnership with Blesma. The charities will deliver high quality support to veterans with physical disabilities through grants across five years.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Rt Hon. Johnny Mercer MP, said:

I want to make this the best country in the world to be a veteran. To do that, It is only right that those who have served our country should have access to high quality support that allows them to get back to what they love doing.

I’ve met so many inspiring veterans today who have told me how the previous fund helped them to make small steps to regain their independence and zest for life.

If you have mobility needs linked to your time in service, please get in touch with Help for Heroes to find out more.

The new VMF was secured in the Spring Budget by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. The reinstated fund will have a greater focus on evaluating impact, and will be part of the new physical health pathway in England under Op RESTORE.

James Needham, CEO of Help for Heroes:

The reinstatement of the Veterans’ Mobility Fund will make a vital difference to the lives of those injured during their military service, and it is great news that our charity has been recognised and trusted to deliver this fund.

Today’s announcement is a result of a joint two-year campaign by Help for Heroes and Blemsa, and wounded veterans will be pleased that the UK Government has listened and reinstated this life-changing fund.

We are now working quickly and carefully to establish a robust programme so we can open the fund to eligible veterans by March 2024.

Jon Bryant, Chief Executive, Blesma, the Limbless Veterans said:

Blesma is delighted to have been successful in bidding to run the Veterans Mobility Fund alongside our colleagues in Help for Heroes. Having campaigned for this funding, we know very well what a difference it will make to veterans who have been injured in the service of their country. We look forward to delivering this much-needed support to those who need it.

Army veteran, Paul Colling, said:

I’m delighted the government has decided to reinstate the VMF and award it to Help for Heroes and Blesma. Being able to access the previous fund meant I was able to receive a specialist leg brace -something I couldn’t afford on my own – which prevented me from going through a leg amputation. That brace, and the efforts of Help for Heroes, has enabled me to walk again.

By addressing mobility needs, the equipment will help with veterans’ wider issues such as reducing isolation and loneliness.

To further support the healthcare needs of veterans, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) has worked with NHS England to deliver two dedicated healthcare pathways. Op RESTORE supports physical health needs, and Op COURAGE provides mental health and wellbeing support. The OVA launched a £5 million Health Innovation Fund this year, which includes a research project by Blesma and Anglia Ruskin University on how assistive technologies such as wheelchairs and mobility scooters help veterans in their everyday lives.
September 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : Immediate action to improve HMP Woodhill [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 29 September 2023.

HMP Woodhill will take urgent action to improve safety, security and living conditions including specialist psychological staff to support prisoners at risk of self-harm.
Ministers outline Action Plan to drive immediate improvements at HMP Woodhill

Extra prison staff and training to bolster prison safety and security

Prison conditions to be assessed and works carried out to improve living conditions

Today’s announcement (29 September 2023) follows a critical inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) last month which identified serious concerns resulting in an Urgent Notification.

As part of the Urgent Notification process, Ministers have 28 days to respond, setting out what immediate action is required to improve the running of this prison.

Extra prison staff will be deployed and the population temporarily reduced to bolster the safety and security of HMP Woodhill, with all staff given fresh training on how to tackle prisoner violence.

A prison-wide cell condition survey is underway to identify necessary repairs and industrial-grade cleaning will be carried out across the prison to improve the standard of living conditions.

An Education, Skills and Work Manager will be hired to improve prison education and enhance the quality of time that prisoners spend outside their cell.

Prisons Minister Damian Hinds said:

The findings at HMP Woodhill were incredibly serious which is why I am taking the necessary action to order immediate improvements.

Extra safety staff, specialised mental health support and appropriate living conditions will ensure that offenders have the support they need to turn their backs on crime and live law-abiding lives on release.

The government introduced the Urgent Notification process in 2017 to ensure immediate, urgent action was taken when necessary to address serious concerns identified by inspectors.
September 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK announces new sanctions in response to Russian sham elections in Ukraine [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 29 September 2023.

Latest sanctions package holds those who would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty to account.
- UK sanctions Russian officials involved in recent sham elections in the Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, and in illegally annexed Crimea
- Sanctions also target officials involved in last year’s sham referendums staged to legitimise the attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory
- 1,600 individuals and entities have now been sanctioned by the UK in response to Russia’s invasion
More Russian officials involved in the illegal invasion of Ukraine are hit with new sanctions, including movement and financial restrictions, announced by the Foreign Secretary today (29th September). Eleven new designations will be imposed by the UK in response to Russia’s attempts to use sham elections to legitimise its illegal control of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, which are all part of Ukrainian sovereign territory.

Among those designated are an organisation and senior Russian officials, who have all directly acted to undermine Ukraine and threaten its territorial integrity.

They include:
- The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia, the government agency that has arranged this month’s sham elections and last year’s referendums in illegally temporarily controlled parts of Ukraine.
- Natalya Budarina, CEC Secretary, one of the most senior officials in the Central Election Commission.
- Andrei Aleksyenko, Head of the so-called Kherson regional administration.
- Marina Zakharova, Head of the so-called election commission in Kherson.
Today’s announcement comes one year on from Russia’s illegal attempt to annex the Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk after falsified and illegitimate sham referendums. Conducted on sovereign Ukrainian territory, through intimidation at gunpoint, these referendums were overwhelmingly rejected by the UN General Assembly in October 2022.

The Ukrainian population living in these temporarily controlled territories has endured large-scale atrocities at the hands of Russian forces, including torture, sexual violence, and mass forced deportation. To date, the Ukrainian authorities report that at least 19,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported from their homes.

Russia has sought to destroy Ukrainian culture and identity in a bid to strengthen its illegitimate claim to Ukrainian territory, including by forcible issue of Russian passports, and imposition of Russian law, media, education, and currency.

In the latest futile attempt to normalise Russia’s illegitimate control of sovereign Ukrainian territory, Russia arranged illegal sham “elections” earlier this month. These elections are another violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and of the UN Charter. Earlier this month the UK confirmed, to the UN Security Council, evidence that the results were pre-determined.

Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly said:

Russia’s sham elections are a transparent, futile attempt to legitimise its illegal control of sovereign Ukrainian territory. You can’t hold ‘elections’ in someone else’s country.

The UK will never recognise Russia’s claims to Ukrainian territory – Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson are Ukraine.

Last year, the UK took immediate action in response to the illegal sham referendums in Ukraine, sanctioning top Russian officials who enforced the illegal votes in the temporarily controlled territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

This latest package of designations comes ahead of a new commemoration day in Russia, declared by Putin to celebrate the anniversary of his purported annexations, despite Russia having no legitimate basis for any claim to Ukrainian territory.

The people of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts voted overwhelmingly for Ukraine’s independence in 1991, and their continued resistance against Russian aggression shows their determination to remain part of an independent and sovereign Ukraine.

These latest sanctions serve as a stark reminder of the cost of such a flagrant assault on sovereignty, democracy and equality.

Together with our international partners, we have unleashed the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy.

The UK alone has sanctioned over 1,800 individuals and entities under its Russia sanctions regime, over 1,600 of which were sanctioned since Putin’s full-scale invasion. This includes 29 banks, accounting for over 90% of the Russian banking sector, and 129 oligarchs who had a combined net worth around £145 billion at the time of the invasion. Over £20 billion of UK-Russia bilateral trade (2021 figures) is now under full or partial sanction and there has been a 98.2% fall in Russian imports into the UK, and a 77.4% fall in UK exports to Russia.

Sanctions have sent Russia into recession, eroded Russia’s financial base and massively degraded the building blocks for Russia’s long-term growth.

Russia’s budget is heavily in deficit. Rather than the surplus the Russian government predicted for 2022, Russia suffered an annual deficit of $47bn—the second highest of the post-Soviet era. Many of the trends contributing to the deficit in 2022 will continue in 2023, especially downward pressure on oil and gas exports.

Now, over 60% of Putin’s ‘war chest’ foreign reserves – worth £275bn – have been immobilised.
September 30, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New Prison Education Service to cut crime [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 29 September 2023.

Overhaul of learning behind bars to include specialist teaching staff, apprenticeships and digital reading tools.
new Prisoner Education Service to get more offenders into work on release – keeping public safe

in the past 6 months 4 prisons have received a ‘Good’ rating for education provision from Ofsted.

Learning in jails is to be completely transformed through the introduction of a new Prisoner Education Service as part of a renewed push to skill up offenders and protect the public (28 September 2023).

Evidence shows most prisoners have poor levels of education, with almost half of all offenders having been previously expelled from school and just a third having the expected maths and English ability of an 11-year-old.

The government’s new Prisoner Education Service will include:

New Head of Education Skills and Work roles in every prison, working hand in glove with the Governor to provide tailored education plans to meet the needs of their jail

The first ever prisoner apprenticeships in catering and construction through ground-breaking partnerships with Greene King, Kier and Clipper, with talks underway to open up apprenticeships in other industries.

An extra £1.8 million invested to raise literacy rates as well as a new digital literacy app for prison leavers. Based on the ‘Turning Pages’ learning model, the app provides users with support from a dedicated coach and allows individuals to set personal goals such as learning to read a letter from their family or write a CV.

New Neurodiversity Support Managers in every prison to support offenders with neurodivergent needs in accessing education, skills and work opportunities within the prison.

Launching the Future Skills programme that will train up over 2,000 offenders over the next two years in vital industries such as scaffolding and electrics, before linking them up with employers in the local community and guaranteeing interviews on release.

New contracts for education providers with tough targets on maths, English and vocational qualifications, and quality of delivery – to ensure every prisoner can finish their sentence with a basic level of English and maths.

To further drive innovation and encourage creativity, prison governors in five prisons will be given increased freedoms on how they organise prison education, skills and work opportunities in their prison.

The new service is a cornerstone of the Prisons Strategy White Paper – and is the latest step in a package of measures to revolutionise learning behind bars and better prepare offenders for life on release.

This work to overhaul education in prisons is already well underway, and seeing positive results.

The number of prisoners in work following release more than doubling between 2021 and 2023, and in the past 6 months 4 prisons have received a ‘Good’ rating for education provision from Ofsted.

As part of this commitment the prison service is continuing to forge a closer working relationship with the education inspectorate, Ofsted, who have been delivering education sessions to prison leaders to ensure greater collaboration and clear expectations for prison education.

Prisons Minister Damian Hinds said:

Just as criminals must repay their debt to society, a forward-thinking prison system must give prisoners an alternative to the cycle of reoffending, and one of the best ways to do this is through education.

Our improved Prisoner Education Service with specialist staff, tougher targets and increased focus on employment will be more effective at cutting crime and keeping the public safe. I am grateful to Ofsted and the Chief Inspector of Prisons for their work championing this issue.

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman added:

I warmly welcome this investment to support the much-needed improvements in education, work and skills provision in prisons.

I look forward to continuing our work with the MOJ to make sure that education is a priority in prison, making a real difference to prisoners’ lives post release.

This announcement delivers on a key pledge in the Prisons Strategy White Paper to better protect the public by getting more prisoners skilled up while behind bars so they can find work on release – cutting crime, keeping the public safe, and reducing the £18 billion a year cost to society of reoffending.

Today’s announcement builds on work to get more prisoners skilled up while behind bars so they can find work on release, better protecting the public and reducing reoffending.

Ministers have already set up new Employment Advisory Boards – now up and running in all 92 resettlement prisons – which link up prisons to leading businesses, such as Co-op, Greggs and Iceland, to provide advice on how to get offenders into work on release.

Prisons have also continued to rollout Storybooks Dads and Mums, which helps over 5,000 prisoners a year record bedtime stories for their children, and rolled out new technology, including laptops for prisoners to take part in online courses with the Open University.

Today’s launch also coincides with the launch of the Future Skills Programme, running courses targeted at industry in prisons with direct links to employers. Courses will be delivered from autumn 2023 to spring 2025 in up to 23 prisons across England and Wales, reaching around 2,200 prisoners, who will be trained and offered guaranteed interviews for jobs on release in a variety of roles including scaffolders, electricians and case workers.
September 30, 2023