Prison Education Services - Legal Support

The Ministry of Justice ("MoJ") is seeking to appoint a legal services provider to assist on the forthcoming procurement of Prison Education Services for Her Majesty's Prisons and Probation Service ("HMPPS").

Currently, education is provided under the Prison Education Framework ("PEF"). However, the quality of the current curriculum across the prison estate is not good enough and too many prisoners leave without a plan that will help them get a job or further training on release. In 2019-20, Ofsted judged that education, skills and work was 'good' or better in only 28% of prisons. This is further evidenced by the fact that only 12% of offenders released from custody and available for work in 2019/20 were employed six weeks following their release, while 88% were unemployed. This suggests that education provision is not adequately equipping prisoners with the skills needed for employment on release.

The proposed reforms to prison education will build on the foundations that the Prison Education Framework has laid, but will also provide support and guidance to governors to ensure that they are commissioning a tailored service that provides prisoners with the relevant knowledge, skills and guidance to secure employment, further education or further training on release. By setting clear standards for education, skills and work delivery, governors across the estate will have a better understanding of what makes a quality offer, resulting in greater consistency for the prisoners in our care.

The current contract is due to expire in March 2023 and the aim is to extend it for one year to enable the new contract to be procured. The contract value will be in the region of £1 billion.

The procurement of education services will encompass the following strands, which are currently divided up into a number of different contracts:

Prison Education Framework (PEF) Core & Non Core Services Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (PEDPS) Non-core curriculum services Library services Common Awarding Organisations

In conclusion, due to the size and scope of this re-procurement project, CLG and GLD TUPE hub need the support of external legal services to be able to successfully resource it. Therefore, it is essential that these external legal services are procured to assist with the procurement of Education Services to ensure it is completed within the necessary timescales.