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CILIP, CILIP's Prison Libraries Group (PrLG) of members, Prisoners’ Education Trust, The Reading Agency, Libraries Connected, Shannon Trust, and Prison Reading Groups, have written to Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood MP to highlight the importance of prison libraries and the need to improve library provision for people in prison.

Prisoners have much lower levels of literacy than the general population. The most recent data published by the Ministry of Justice (Prison Education Statistics and Accredited Programmes in custody: April 2022 to March 2023) shows that 65 per cent of adult prisoners had literacy levels below those expected of an 11-year-old.

In the letter, the charities reaffirm the value and importance of staffed prison libraries that support and improve reading and mental health, and have the ability to influence a reduction in reoffending, while helping to improve whole family literacy and strengthen bonds.

Download the full letter

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