Prisons: Education
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of the Prison Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.
Answered by Jake Richards
The Prison Education Budget has not been reduced but increased costs mean that many prisons will experience a reduction in core-contract provision.
The value of the Prisoner Education Framework contracts between 01 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 was £138 million. We are unable to provide a set contract value for the period 01 October 2025 – 30 September 2026 as this period spans two contract years. Comparisons between individual service budgets year on year are not straightforward due to changes in contract structure and delivery arrangements. Additionally, the overall prison education budget includes a range of services beyond core education and the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), such as libraries, higher education and further education and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG).
The CIAG contract value for financial year 2025-26 is £9.3 million.
We have set out the previous five years’ DPS budgets below:
Financial Year | DPS Budget | Notes |
2021-22 | £22.3m | This is a combined total for DPS and CIAG. |
2022-23 | £14.1m | These figures represent the total spent by Prison Governors on DPS without CIAG. |
2023-24 | £13.9m | |
2024-25 | £12.7m | |
2025-26 | £12.0m | This excludes the budget for the national CIAG service launched 01 April 2025. |
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →