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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will visit prison personnel at HM Prisons (a) Swaleside, (b) Elmley and (c) Standford Hill to discuss the sustainability test; [224063] (2) at which other prisons sustainability tests will be conducted following those at HM Prisons Swaleside, Elmley and Standford Hill; and what implications for terms of employment of prison staff the sustainability test has. [224064] Paul Goggins: I hope to have the opportunity to visit staff at the three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey in the near future. We are announcing one competition relating to prisons at this time. No decision has yet been taken about the future programme. If the public sector Prison Service is successful in its bid for running prisons on the Isle of Sheppey, there will be no changes to terms of employment of prison staff as a result of the competition. Should the public sector Prison Service be unsuccessful in its bid for running prisons on the Isle of Sheppey, then management of the "undertaking" will transfer to the private sector bidder. All staff will form part of the "undertaking" and will therefore transfer to the new employers under the protection of TUPE (Transfer of Undertaking; Protection of Employment Act). TUPE provides that staff will transfer on such existing terms and conditions as those provided by the previous employer and thereafter changes in such terms and conditions will be negotiated directly between the new employer and the employees/recognised trade union as appropriate. Pension arrangements for such staff have to be "broadly comparable" and within guidelines established by the Cabinet Office entitled "Fair Deal on Pensions". Additionally, the recent establishment of the Code of Practice on Two-Tier Workforce, agreed by both the TUC and CBI, now makes provision that any new staff joining the transferred undertaking after the date of transfer must be employed on comparable terms and conditions as the existing workforce, hence creating a "level playing" field in terms of competition between bidders.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

432 c1131W; 224063;224064

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Conditions of employment Contracts Prisons Isle of Sheppey HMP Elmley HMP/YOI Standford Hill HMP Swaleside

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk