Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how prison officers were informed of changes to their pensions following the transfer from Classic to the Alpha Scheme; and how those changes affected the employment contracts of such prison officers.

During the consultation period with The Pension Scheme Executive in the Cabinet Office, the Prison Officers Association (POA) published various bulletins and communications confirming the change in pension arrangements. Additionally NOMS HR circulated communications through their internal Intranet system which is available to all staff. The intranet article directed staff to the Civil Service Pension website which held the details about the pension changes being introduced. Cabinet Office issued letters to all staff informing them of the pension changes. NOMS policy is to not issue new employment contracts or variations for routine legislation changes.