Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2021 to Question 158908, Prison Officers: Pay, what matters were identified in the equality impact assessment that informed the effect of rejecting recommendation three on (a) unlawful discrimination and (b) advancing equality of opportunity.

The 20/21 Prison Service Pay Review Body report was received on 5 June 2020 and included a recommendation, recommendation 3, to uplift the pay of Band 3 prison staff on modernised terms and conditions by £3,000. This recommendation was not accepted by the Government. An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted and considered in reaching the decision to reject recommendation 3.

The EIA recognised that rejecting recommendation 3 from the PSPRB 20/21 report would adversely impact staff on Fair & Sustainable (F&S) terms and conditions, who (as per the data published on 2 March) are a more diverse staffing group than their counterparts on closed-grades terms.

The Government’s consideration of recommendation 3 took this into account, alongside other factors such as the exceptional costs associated with implementing this recommendation, the impact on the overall pay structure, and the changing labour market conditions due to the exceptional economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department identified as part of the EIA that the adverse impact of rejecting recommendation 3 would be addressed by efforts to close the pay differential between staff on closed-grades terms and those on F&S terms. This remains a key component of the Department’s longer-term pay strategy.