Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value is of dynamic purchasing system contracts for education entered into by each prison since 1 April 2019.

Information on the number of Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) contracts entered into since 1st April 2019 and the total value of DPS contracts entered into since 1st April 2019, by prison, is provided in the attached table.

As set out in the Education and Employment Strategy in May last year, significant changes to the delivery arrangements for prison education took full effect from April 2019. From that point, governors took control of their establishment’s education budget, determined the curriculum on offer and how it is structured and organised, and decided who their education providers will be.

Prison governors commission core and bespoke education provision through two new routes: the Prison Education Framework (PEF) and the prison education DPS. The DPS enables governors to commission innovative, specialist or one-off education provision for their establishment.