Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2020 to Question 98913 on Prisons: Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) capacity and (b) capability of Prison Education Framework providers to deliver their contractual requirements.

We’ve recently reviewed all Prison Education Framework (PEF) providers to look at their ability to deliver education services under the current Covid- 19 restrictions.

Currently PEF and Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) suppliers continue to be paid ‘on profile’, a fixed amount of the annual value each month as required under the original contract. This is based on the full contract value and has helped maintain supplier cash flow during this period. The relief period is part of the 2nd PEF contract year which finishes at the end of March next year. After this point, HMPPS will work with suppliers to reconcile the profile payments made against the value of the actual delivery and relief that is due for undelivered education under the contracts. As of 16 November, 47 suppliers have accepted offers of relief, however, it is not appropriate to provide the suppliers’ details as this is commercially confidential information. It will not be possible to reach a figure for the total relief provided until the process of reconciling the payments has been completed.

All education providers are now submitting revised curriculum plans, in consultation with each prison establishment, to better reflect their ability to deliver services during this difficult time and to meet the needs of their learners.