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Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Justice – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 19 March 2013.

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Photo of Jeremy Wright Jeremy Wright The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice 11:30, 19 March 2013

My hon. Friend makes a good point. We are already obliged to provide education for such young people, whether they are in custody or not. He is right that literacy and numeracy are a huge issue. That is partly because there are very high rates of exclusion from school among young people who eventually end up in custody. We need to do more to take advantage of the period of stability, which for many young people is unusual, that they have while in custody. We must do more to educate them in custody and to ensure that that education continues when they leave it.