Question reference: S6W-04509
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 18 November 2021
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 December 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether data about the literacy levels of inmates in prisons and young offenders institutions is routinely collected.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Education in all public sector prisons is delivered through a commercial contract with Fife College. As part of Fife College’s induction processes with those in custody, a screening tool is utilised. This screening tool gives an indication of the initial literacy levels of each prospective learner and therefore informs their individual learning plan.
All individuals are also routinely asked questions on admission to capture their level of English and this is recorded on SPS’ internal system. Individuals are asked to confirm whether they can understand, write, read and speak English.