Matt Hancock MP has been in the news for a few dyslexia-related reasons this year: whether it’s speaking passionately about his proposed Dyslexia Bill in parliament- a move that would see all Primary School children screened for the condition at an early age- or taking about his own dyslexia journey, he’s become a bit of a poster child for the systemic change needed to ensure that all children with the condition get the support they need. But last week, we saw the former Health Secretary tackle another site of literacy needs in the UK today, the prison system- and he’s campaigning for change there, too.
Speaking to Inside Time: The National Newspaper for Prisoners and Detainees in his West Suffolk constituency, Mr. Hancock spoke candidly about the difficulties facing prisons when it comes to reading and writing skills, and why it matters to support and expand these skill sets to help people get back on track. He’s also a regular visitor to the education department of HMP Highpoint, and admits that there are issues in the way that learning in prisons takes place and how it is facilitated.
“I’ve seen the effort that goes in, but God, the barriers to getting a decent education are very significant – especially in literacy and numeracy.”
He also highlights that governors habitually do not give enough priority to education as one of their targets for the people in their care: “Trips to the library, for instance, are the first things to go when there’s pressure on prison officer numbers.” He admits that even he isn’t able to have all the answers at this point, but pinpoints that there are likely answers to be found in adding education goals to the list of targets that the Ministry of Justice imposes on every prison in the UK system.
He also highlights that there is a systemic data transport issue that can actually have a huge impact on how education takes place within the prison system in that prisoners who are transferred between institutions do not have their educational record transferred with them. That means all record of their learning, areas of focus, exam intentions and progress disappears when they move between prisons, something that is relatively common in longer sentences. “That must be incredibly frustrating and there’s no excuse for it,” he comments. “Records should be transferred with prisoners. Why doesn’t this happen? I’ve heard it blamed on data protection rules… that’s rubbish. I took the Data Protection Act through Parliament as Culture Secretary, and I know for a fact that it doesn’t stop data being passed on. It needs to get sorted.”
Around a third of people in the UK prison system are assessed as having a neurodiversity or learning difficulty, and the predominance from most sources seems to indicate dyslexia as being the most common of these. There is a link between low literacy and the chances of criminality and prison time evident in the data we have, and many people all over the world are working hard to break these pipelines between low literacy and offending, from Mr. Hancock in the UK House of Commons to the current Mayoral administration under Eric Adams in New York City.
“Having it identified made all the difference, because I was essentially re-taught how to read and write. I’m acutely aware that I’m one of the lucky ones – I got the support I needed, albeit after I left school. So, I want to ensure that dyslexia is identified in primary school, because then we can help people to get through it.”
The MP was diagnosed with dyslexia at university, and although he highlights that being able to define the reading difficulties he was having was deeply helpful to him, he admits that it was a diagnosis that came a little too late. He kept the condition a secret for almost two decades, throughout a successful career in politics as the Conservative Minister for Education and as UK Culture Secretary, and has only recently started talking about it openly and freely as part of his campaign to help children across the education system get the diagnosis and the support they need at a time when it can do the most good.
“My experience is that the public are forgiving,” he says to Inside Time. “And I think society should be, and I think forgiveness is important. What is the best thing for us all collectively living together on this island? It’s that people are given a chance- especially if they acknowledge, understand and apologise for transgressions. I think it’s the best way for us to live together cohesively.”
You can read the full interview with Matt Hancock MP over at Inside Time: The National Newspaper for Prisoners and Detainees – and you can also catch up with our own exclusive interview with Mr. Hancock over at The Succeed With Dyslexia YouTube Channel.