Posted February 2018
On 22nd December 2017, the Department for Education sent a letter to 7 prime contractors for the National Careers Service with responsibility for providing careers information, advice and guidance in prisons. The letter stated that in-custody service would not be continued after 1st April 2018. The decision came from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPSS) in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). From September 2018, Prison Governors will be commissioning the in-custody careers information, advice and guidance, in line with the Dame Sally Coates ‘Unlocking Potential’ recommendations. The decision will in effect mean no specialist careers service delivery of over a minimum of 6-9 months for those in-custody before any new service can be delivered.
Education and Select Committee members are invited to:
- (i) Urgently review the rationale and impact of this decision that was provided to an estimated 65,000 prisoners in 2017/18 so far
- (ii) Call for the reinstatement of the National Careers Service in-custody contracts to be extended
