§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What changes have been made to the conditions of employment and remuneration of workshop instructors in HM Prisons, which are to be transferred to local education providers; how many of these instructors have so far handed in their notice; and what steps they will take to ensure that craft training hours in the prisons are maintained. [HL87]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)At present, no changes have been made to the terms and conditions of workshop instructors in HM Prisons. We expect staff who are currently delivering vocational training to transfer to the successful contractor for learning and skills in prisons on 1 September 2004.
33WAStaff transferring to the new learning and skills contractors will do so under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE). TUPE protects employees by giving them the right to transfer from the existing employer to a new employer with their existing contractual terms and conditions of service, which the new employer will be obliged to replicate.
Data are not held centrally on those instructors who may have handed in their notice or transferred to roles outside of the scope of the new contracts, and to collect this information would be at disproportionate cost.
The provision of craft training hours is a matter that will be addressed locally through annual planning based on needs analysis.