Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the eligibility criteria for local authorities to qualify to be a pilot area for a financial allowance for kinship carers.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All local authorities are eligible to apply for the Kinship Allowance Pilot, except for those which have received a section 114 notice and/or already offer a regular financial allowance that matches the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) to kinship carers with legal orders.

Local authorities remain eligible to apply if they pay a financial allowance that matches the NMA, but one of the following applies:

• Deductions are applied to the financial allowance, such as means testing.
• Financial support is provided for a limited duration.
• Financial support is only provided to some of the cohort.

Local authorities will be ineligible to apply for the kinship allowance pilot if all the following conditions are met:

• They provide a weekly financial allowance for all Special Guardianship Orders and Child Arrangements Orders, granted through either private or public law.
• The allowance is equal to or greater than the Fostering NMA.
• The allowance is paid continuously until the child turns 18.
• The allowance is not subject to any deductions or limits, such as means testing or time cap.

Further information can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-become-a-kinship-allowance-pilot-provider.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, what guidance was given to her Department by (a) HM Treasury and (b) other Departments on the application of New Fair Deal to prison educators transferring from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department followed guidance from His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), at the time of tender publication, and included all the relevant details to bidders on the application of the New Fair Deal (NFD) in the Invitation to Tender documentation.

Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender.

Once HMT policy on pensions was announced on 14 November 2024, all contracts were awarded to suppliers to include the application of NFD to transferring educators.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether prison educators who transfer from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts will have access to (a) the Local Government Pension Scheme and (b) the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I can confirm that staff transferring from further education colleges to the private sector will have access to (a) the Local Government Pension Scheme and (b) the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether New Fair Deal will apply to prison educators transferring from further education colleges to the private sector as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I can confirm that the New Fair Deal will apply. The Department will honour the Government pension policy set by His Majesty’s Treasury.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department will underwrite New Fair Deal for staff transferring from further education colleges to the private sector in the event that the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts is not complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The application process is managed by the supplier and so no such assurance can be provided by the Department. As the scheme employer, the Department works proactively with suppliers supporting early applications being made to obtain admitted body status and to provide a scheme guarantee from the relevant Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement expediently.

The Department also works with the supplier to ensure migration plans and post migration plans have a confirmed process for maintaining the pension status until the individuals are fully admitted.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department has made any assurances to private-sector providers of prison education as to whether the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts will be complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The application process is managed by the supplier and so no such assurance can be provided by the Department. As the scheme employer, the Department works proactively with suppliers supporting early applications being made to obtain admitted body status and to provide a scheme guarantee from the relevant Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement expediently.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether her Department has made any assurances to private-sector providers of prison education in the event that applications to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts are unsuccessful.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department has not made any such assurances to private-sector providers of prison education. Instead, as the scheme employer, the Department works collaboratively with suppliers to assist in the completion of their Admissions Agreement(s) to the appropriate pension fund. Furthermore, the Department provides a scheme guarantee from the Secretary of State in the Admissions Agreement.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243 on Prisons: Education, what guidance her Department has provided to private-sector providers of prison education on establishing contingency plans in the event that the admitting process to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts is not complete before the effective date of transfer of staff.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department works with the supplier to ensure migration plans and post migration plans have a confirmed process for maintaining the pension status until the supplier is fully admitted.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34243, Prisons: Education, whether it is her expectation that private-sector providers of prison education will apply directly to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status as a result of new Prison Education Service contracts.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

It is the expectation that private-sector providers of prison education will apply directly to relevant public-sector pension schemes to seek admitted body status. The Department will collaborate with suppliers to achieve admittance to relevant pension schemes.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 64014 on Food Supply, by what metrics his Department (a) measures and (b) forecasts annual domestic food production.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra produces a comprehensive set of metrics to measure annual domestic food production but does not produce forecasts of domestic food production. These statistics cover a wide range of indicators, including:

• Arable & Horticultural crop areas
• Crop yields
• Volume of production and value of crops, fruit and vegetables, red meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs
• Volume of production of dairy and egg products
• Imports and exports of agricultural commodities
• Total domestic uses of these commodities
• Livestock populations, including the breeding population, of cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry
• Production to Supply ratios of all major agricultural commodities

These metrics are publicly available in either the annual publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" at Agriculture in the United Kingdom - GOV.UK or on the Food & Farming Statistics publication page at Food, Farming and Bio-security statistics - GOV.UK.

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