CROSS-PARTY calls from MPs and peers to renationalise prison education were welcomed by the University and College Union (UCU) today.

Labour peer and ex-head of the National Union of Teachers Baroness Blower described prison education as “fundamental to rehabilitation” during a debate on Thursday, as she demanded Tory ministers return it to the public sector with “standardised curricula and qualifications.”

Crossbencher Baroness Meacher also raised the “potential benefits of doubling the prison education budget,” while Tory Lord Cormack asked ministers to provide statistics on the impact of education on reoffending rates.