A NEW partnership to educate former criminals could help cut down on crime in the North-East.

The Learning and Skills Council Tees Valley has forged a relationship with the Probation Service to provide better help for offenders in the region who are wanting to learn skills.

The link-up comes after the findings of a recent Government report which said that offenders in learning were less likely to re-offend.

From this month, the partnership will have joint responsibility for achieving learning targets to increase literacy and maths skills among former criminals.

The announcement was made at an event held by the LSC Tees Valley, called Learning and Skills provision for Offenders in the Community.

The event focused on cutting reoffending through learning and included workshops for learning providers, including teaching offenders techniques and dealing with challenging behaviour.

Diane Hunt, director of Learning for all at the LSC Tees Valley, said: "This new partnership is a great move forward for offender learning.

"We will now be able to work even closer with the Probation Service to help reduce the number of reoffenders in this region.

"Engaging offenders in learning, whether it's in prison or out, is part of our commitment to life-long learning and will increase the skills mix of each individual."

Elaine Lumley, chief officer from the National Probation Service, said: "The LSC's network of learning providers are fully equipped to deliver the quality training that offenders need to stop offending and play a more active role in society."

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