The UK government is set to trial a new app aimed at boosting prison leavers’ literacy.

The app, Turning Pages Digital, was developed by technology company Yalla Cooperative and the Shannon Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged people to learn to read.

The government said the app will trialled with 300 offenders in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex beginning this month. By encouraging inmates to improve their reading skills, it is hoped they may “turn their backs on crime”.

The government invested in Turning Pages Digital as part of the Prison Leavers Project – a £20 million scheme to cut recidivism through innovation.

The project is focused on the causes of crime, including poor educational standards, unemployment, and substance misuse in a bid to help cut the £18 billion cost of reoffending, the government said.

Prisons and probation minister Damian Hinds said: “Literacy is the key to so many routes away from crime and we know that prisoners engaging in education are significantly less likely to reoffend.”

He continued: “That’s why we’re investing £20 million in fantastic ideas like this literacy app, as we look at innovative ways to make our communities safer.”

The move follows the government announcing the winners of a comparable innovation scheme to support tech transformation.

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