Probation

Circular

PREPARING FOR THE REFERENCE NO:

INTRODUCTION OF THE 58/2005
OFFENDERS’ LEARNING AND
ISSUE DATE:
SKILLS SERVICE (OLASS) 4 August 2005

PURPOSE IMPLEMENTATION DATE:

This PC is targeted primarily at the six developing regions in England who
are preparing for the implementation of the new Offenders’ Learning and Immediate
Skills Service (OLASS) next year: the East and West Midlands, the East of
England, Yorkshire & Humberside, the South East and London. It provides EXPIRY DATE:
general advice and information to the developing regions regarding what the
August 2009
new service will deliver as well as outlining some of the steps areas need to
take in order to be ready for implementation in August 2006.
TO:
ACTION Chairs of Probation Boards
Chairs and Chiefs of Probation Boards are asked to note the contents of the Chief Officers of Probation
PC and to disseminate to appropriate staff within their area. Secretaries of Probation Boards

SUMMARY CC:
The new Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) is currently being Board Treasurers
introduced in England. The service will integrate learning and skills provision
Regional Managers
for offenders in custody and the community with all offender learning and
Regional WW Managers
skills provision planned and funded by the LSC. The aim of the new service
is to provide a holistic end to end service for offender learning. Three Regional Offender Managers
development regions (North East, North West and South West) have been National Learning and Skills
established and have now completed an LSC led procurement process to Council
identify new providers. Lead providers have been appointed with a view to OLSU, DfES
going live with the new service, in most areas, on 1 August 2005. The six
remaining developing regions are currently preparing for the new service and AUTHORISED BY:
are scheduled to go live from August 2006. Different arrangements are Meg Blumsom, Acting Head of
being put in place for Welsh areas as neither the remit of the LSC or the Community Reintegration Unit
DfES extends to cover Wales. Welsh regions are therefore adopting a
separate strategy in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government and
ATTACHED:
the Director of Offender Management Services - Wales.
Annex A – Funding allocations
RELEVANT PREVIOUS PROBATION CIRCULARS 2005-06
PC 58/2004 – Area Business Plans 2005-06 Annex B – Letter from TSOL
PC 24/2005 – National Probation Service Business Plan 2005/6 regarding transfer aspects under
TUPE
CONTACT FOR ENQUIRIES
Roger Stevens, Tel: 020 7217 8283.
Email: roger.stevens@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

National Probation Directorate

Horseferry House, Dean Ryle Street, London, SW1P 2AW
Introduction

The new Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) is currently being introduced to integrate learning and skills
provision for offenders and to support continuity of learning both in custody and in the community in England. Planned
and funded by the LSC alongside their mainstream post-16 responsibilities, it will provide a holistic end to end service for
offenders and is being introduced in two stages. Three development regions (North East, North West and South West)
have completed a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) led competitive tendering process and lead providers for each region
have been announced by the National LSC. These three regions go live in most areas on 1 August 2005. The six
remaining regions will then follow the three development regions implementing the new service from August 2006.

The vision for the new service is that:

• Offenders in prison and supervised in the community, according to need, should have access to learning and
skills, both in prisons and the community, which enables them to gain the skills and qualifications they need to
hold down a job and have a positive role in society.

• The content and quality of learning programmes and qualifications for offenders in custody and in the community
are the same as comparable provision elsewhere.

Welsh regions are adopting a separate strategy in partnership with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Director of
Offender Management Services - Wales as neither the remit of the DfES or the LSC extends to cover Wales.

OLASS – Aims and benefits

One of the main aims of the new service for the DfES (who are the lead department for education and skills) is to ensure
that offenders, via the LSC, have full access to available provision. The LSC, with its contacts, knowledge and networks
are ideally placed to ensure that offenders receive good quality provision best suited to their individual needs with a clear
focus on outcomes leading to employment and reduced re-offending. This strategy then enables NPS areas to
concentrate on their core business of screening and referring offenders to provision, effectively case managing and
motivating offenders as well as maintaining the infrastructure.

A corner stone of the new service will be the effective transmission of an offender’s educational objectives and
achievements between prison, probation and other partners. The early production of an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) will
also provide a concise written record of an offenders learning journey and allow more informed decisions to be made on
the most suitable interventions. The introduction of these elements will bring real benefits in reducing the number of
duplicate screenings and assessments currently undertaken and allow provision to be targeted to where it is needed
most. It will also provide continuity for the offender and reduce disruption as they move from prison to prison or from
prison to the community as well as providing support for offenders at all stages of their sentence and on release.

The integration of offender learning with mainstream provision (which is mainly provision delivered via FE or local
colleges) under OLASS will further ensure that offenders have access to a much wider range of quality provision. Such
engagement will also allow colleges to draw down mainstream funding directly from the LSC as such provision is funded
outside of the OLASS project. It is recognised that many offenders will not be immediately ready for mainstream
engagement and will require specialist support services in order to bridge the gap between discrete 1:1 provision (or
provision delivered on NPS premises) to attending the local college for learning. Areas need to ensure that provision to
provide these essential link services are sustained in the future and that such activities form part of you areas contribution
to the specification for the new service when prompted to make an input by the lead LSC.

The new service will also provide offenders with a more integrated approach to the delivery of Information, Advice and
Guidance (IAG) services. IAG services have a pivotal role to play in delivering the skills strategy and in promoting the
benefits of learning, helping overcome barriers and supporting offenders to make informed choices.

The LSC currently funds an information and advice service to all adults in England aged over 20 years of age. This
service is branded “nextstep” and provides a universal information service, prioritised for adults yet to achieve a full level
two qualification. As the new and integrated Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service is introduced, it is important that
“nextstep” services are considered alongside those of other agencies, such as Job Centre Plus, to ensure that offenders
PC58/2005 – Preparing for the Introduction of OLASS
2
are referred to the most appropriate service to meet their need for information and advice about opportunities for learning
and employment.

Key Documents

The new integrated service is described in two key documents. The Offender’s Learning Journey forms the specification
of the new service and describes the components for the service at all stages of a learner’s journey including during his or
her sentence served in custody and whilst under supervision in the community following release. The second document is
the Delivery Framework which sets out the responsibilities of the major partners and provides a framework for the LSC to
plan implementation of the new service in England. Copies of both documents can be found on the DfES website
www.dfes.gov.uk/offenderlearning/initiatives.cfm

An Accountabilities Framework, now being finalised but available during August, will set out the responsibilities of the key
stakeholders in the OLASS arrangements. The document focuses on high-level accountabilities, and will be supported by
Partnership Plans that will be developed locally during the implementation period from now through to next August. Local
areas will want to ensure their procurement and commissioning roles alongside those of the other stakeholders are clear
in these local documents. The LSC will hold the main commissioning role for offender learning and skills as they take on
responsibility for planning and funding the new service, but they will fulfil that role in close co-ordination with the Regional
Offender Manager (and with the YJB in respect of those in custody aged 15 - 17), probably as part of the arrangements
for taking forward the ETE strand of the Regional Reducing Re-offending Action Plan. Area Boards will want to ensure
the process of feeding in their own assessment of local needs to the commissioning process is understood and works
smoothly.

Timeline/Regional Partnership Boards

Developing regions should have by now established their Regional Partnership Boards under the chairmanship of a lead
Local LSC within the region and agreed their Terms of Reference. In many cases, these boards are formed by a simple
extension of existing arrangements to press forward action on the ETE strand of the Regional Reducing Re-offending
Action Plan. The NPS Board, Chief Officer and senior managers also need to be fully engaged in this process and you
are advised to be proactive in approaching the LSC’s Regional Director if you have yet to be contacted by the lead local
LSC for your region. Regional Partnership Boards are beginning now to assess the local offender learning needs and are
scoping the availability of learning capacity in their region either through current partnerships or via mainstream provision.
Regional Partnership Boards should also have considered, agreed and, where applicable, submitted bids to the National
LSC for any partial prototyping work (i.e. in testing elements/aspects of the new service that are not in place) that they
wish to undertake. Regional Partnership Boards should be working on their detailed regional specification for the delivery
of the new service and have started to work on determining the shape of their preferred procurement lots for their region.
This work should be undertaken in consultation with the Regional Offender Manager with the roles of the ROM and the
NPS areas clearly defined.

Where areas currently deliver learning and skills provision in house then:

• If considering bidding to continue in-house delivery post August 2006 you will need to identify clearly the business
risks to your area and to your staff as delivery will be provided via a legally binding contract between the NPS
area and the lead provider (if you aim to be a sub-contractor of the appointed lead provider) or between the NPS
area and the LSC if you are considering bidding to be the lead provider. Sustainability of delivery will be a key
risk and areas should consider the long term view when bidding for such work. There are also implications for
areas of full engagement in the client side of the LSC’s commissioning process in the run up to August 2006:
there are understandable concerns about the role NPS areas who are bidders can play in service specification
and tender evaluation;

• Whether or not bidding to be a service provider under the new arrangements consider TUPE issues. In house
staff currently delivering direct provision will probably fall within scope for TUPE transfer if delivery transfers to an
external provider. Areas are encouraged to explore fully the scope and current roles for staff and obtain
independent legal advice at an early stage in order to ensure clarity. Further advice on TUPE is given in a later
paragraph.

PC58/2005 – Preparing for the Introduction of OLASS

3
A robust communications strategy will also need to be established in order to ensure that strategy and policy decisions
taken by the regional board are clearly and effectively communicated to NPS senior management, staff within the areas,
the LSC and any local partners. One of the lessons learnt from the development regions was that a robust
communications strategy was essential and that it should be put in place as early as possible in order to keep staff fully
informed and reduce any potential for mis-understanding between the major partners.

Guided Skills Learning (GSL) and Vocational Skills Learning (VSL) should also be considered for inclusion within the
specification for the new service. Based on local knowledge and in consultation with the local LSC areas are encouraged
to identify local skills needs and to link these with an approved qualification structure approved by the LSC. Once
identified GSL/VSL lots should be integrated into your local procurement model.

Contracts for the new service will need to be awarded by January 2006 in order for Post Tender Negotiations to take
place, to provide sufficient time for any TUPE issues to be resolved and for the network of sub contractors to be
established.

Funding

Areas currently have access to two funding streams to support the delivery of basic skills/skills for life provision to
offenders in the community.

Stream 1 - NPS areas currently receive £7.9 m in their baseline budgets which are ring fenced for basic skills. These
funds are allocated for the screening, referral, case management, motivation of offenders and for maintaining the
infrastructure. This funding stream will remain with the NPS for the foreseeable future and should not to be used to
purchase direct provision for offenders in the community. Where these funds are used to purchase direct provision then
they should pass to the LSC under the new arrangements.

Stream 2 – This stream, administered via the LSC, consists of £10million which was made available in England and
Wales from April 2004 to support the transition to the LSC of learning and skills for offenders in the community and to
enhance capacity. This funding will roll forward forming a permanent addition to the baseline budget at the DfES. Funding
for direct delivery will therefore not come to an end in March 2006 or July 2006 (prior to the introduction of the new
service in the developing regions on from August 2006) but will continue to roll forward at the same levels and on the
same basis as at present.

Funding levels for 2005-06 have been notified to areas in May by the NPD but are attached at Annex A for information.

Sustainability

NPS areas should be aware that as there has been no increase in these additional funds the national LSC have written to
all local LSC offices encouraging them to review existing arrangements with NPS areas in the light of the development of
the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (as set out in the Offender’s Learning Journey and the Common Delivery
Framework) in order to ensure future sustainability.

Partnership plans

Current partnership plans between local LSC offices and NPS areas should be updated to take account of the
continuation of current funding. Areas should have reviewed and updated their existing partnership plans for the current
financial year. Areas are also encouraged to include within the partnership plans a section which clearly identifies the
levels of funding available and how funding is to be utilised. Such financial information should be updated as the plan
develops in order to provide a robust audit trail as to how these funds were used and to provide an assessment of the
outcomes delivered.

Development regions should put in place partnership plans that run from 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006 following the
extension of the transitional period to 31 July 2005 in these regions only.

PC58/2005 – Preparing for the Introduction of OLASS

4
Targets

PC 24/2005 – National Probation Service Business Plan notified areas that basic skills targets for 2005-06 had been set
at 40,000 starts and 10,000 awards nationally. Areas individual targets were given in PC 58/2004. All NPS areas should
continue to submit the current monthly and quarterly basic skills monitoring returns to the Regions and Performance Unit
at NPD for the remainder of the business year. The data received will continue to be monitored centrally and the awards
data will form part of the performance bonus scheme (weighted scorecard) for all NPS areas in 2005-06.
Targets for the new service will be those of the LSC and the new service will therefore work towards the achievement of
Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets. The three development regions will start to contribute towards the PSA targets
from 1 August 2005 with the six developing regions contributing from August 2006. Internal NPS targets for basic skills
starts and awards will continue to run in parallel with the new OLASS targets for 2005-06.

Accountabilities

The accountabilities framework which will show the responsibilities of each of the partners is still being discussed at a
National level and guidance is expected to emerge during August.

TUPE

Areas should be aware that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulation 1981 (TUPE) is likely to
apply to any transfer of service (an “undertaking”) from an existing provider (NPS areas included) to a new provider.
Should areas be considering becoming a lead or sub contractor under OLASS then areas are strongly advised to take
their own independent legal advice regarding the application of TUPE at an early stage. Experience from the three
development regions has shown that early engagement (through careful analysis of functions likely to transfer, production
of indicative TUPE lists, notification to staff that their posts may be in scope, consideration of pension issues,
amalgamation of information on terms and conditions etc) pays dividends later in dealing with complex and frequently not
clear cut TUPE issues. Areas are also advised to speak to their local unions about intentions at an early stage. The NPD
have therefore arranged for areas to have access to specialist legal advice from the Government Actuaries Department
(GAD) and the Treasury Solicitors (TSOL). The contacts at each organisation are given below:

David Johnston at GAD who will be able to answer/consider any pension related issues. David can be contacted by e-
mail at david.johnson@gad.gov.uk

The Treasury Solicitors have provided an e-mail address for areas to address any TUPE related legal queries to and the
address is given below:

OLASS_Probation_Tupequeries@treasury-solicitor.gsi.gov.uk

Please note that this service is not free and the Treasury Solicitors will charge NPD for the time spent dealing with
enquiries from areas so this service should be used advisedly. The TSOL service should only be used for TUPE queries.
All other HR related queries should be referred either to Mubin Jaigirdar (020 7217 8290) at the Directorate or taken up
with the DfES or LSC as appropriate.

The Treasury Solicitors have also provided a brief overview of the legal considerations regarding the possible transfer
under TUPE of local probation board educational staff and this is attached at Annex B for information. Areas are strongly
encouraged to review this document and take account of the TUPE implications outlined with regard to any existing staff
that may fall within scope.

Future Commissioning

The procurement/commissioning strategy for the six remaining developing regions is still under discussion. Proposals
were put to the OLASS Project Board on 6 July but further work on the model has been requested. Areas will be provided
with an update on the preferred process as soon as it is available.

PC58/2005 – Preparing for the Introduction of OLASS

5
Regional Workshops

Following the National Conference on 9 June at the Café Royal in London The basic skills team at NPD offered to run
some regional workshops on the OLASS project in order to take stock of current progress and to review/resolve emerging
key issues. Possible dates and venues have been identified and NPD are currently liaising with areas to assess the level
of interest in such events.

Roger Stevens (020 7217 8283) and Julie Welch (020 7 217 8958) from the Directorate will be organising the content for
these workshops and will be contacting area managers shortly to plan the input for the events.

PC58/2005 – Preparing for the Introduction of OLASS

6
OFFENDERS' LEARNING AND SKILLS SERVICE Annex A
Allocations for 2005-06: Offenders in the Community
1. Development Regions

LSC Development NPS Lead LSC in 2004-05 "Feed" LSC(s) Allocation

Region Area
Durham Tees Valley County Durham 136,880.00
North East Teesside Tees Valley 156,570.00
Northumbria Tyne and Wear Northumberland 342,390.00
635,840.00

Cheshire Cheshire and Warrington Greater Merseyside 173,120.00

Cumbria Cumbria 89,610.00
North West Lancashire Lancashire 301,610.00
Merseyside Greater Merseyside 372,870.00
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester 630,350.00
1,567,560.00

Avon and Somerset West of England Somerset 246,690.00

Devon and Cornwall Devon and Cornwall 244,850.00
South West Dorset Dorset 100,060.00
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 85,290.00
Wiltshire Wiltshire and Swindon 88,560.00
765,450.00

TOTAL FOR 3 OLASS 'DEVELOPMENT' REGIONS 2,968,850.00

2. Developing Regions

LSC NPS Lead LSC in 2004-05 "Feed" LSC(s) Allocation

Region Area
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire and Luton 94,270
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire 107,640
Essex Essex 236,420
East of England
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire 124,320
Norfolk Norfolk 129,520
Suffolk Suffolk 95,820
787,990

Derbyshire Derbyshire 171,150

Leicestershire and
Leicestershire 170,890
Rutland
East Midlands
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire and Rutland 102,940
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire 103,440
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire 226,380
774,800

London North,
London South,
London London London East 1,510,660
London West,
London Central
1,510,660

Hampshire Hampshire and IoW 281,770

Kent Kent and Medway 255,710
South East Surrey Surrey 106,710
Sussex Sussex 204,740
Thames Valley MKOB Berkshire 287,830
1,136,760

Staffordshire Staffordshire 188,890

Warwickshire Coventry and Warwickshire 72,710
Herefordshire and
West Mercia Shropshire 178,100
West Midlands Worcestershire
Black Country,
West Midlands Birmingham and Solihull Coventry and 649,550
Warwickshire
1,089,250

Humberside Humberside 194,470

Yorkshire and North Yorkshire North Yorkshire 106,550
Humberside South Yorkshire South Yorkshire 311,900
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire 500,640
1,113,560

TOTAL FOR 6 OLASS 'DEVELOPING' REGIONS 6,413,020

3. Total Funding - All Regions In England

TOTAL FOR 3 OLASS 'DEVELOPMENT' REGIONS 2,968,850

TOTAL FOR 6 OLASS 'DEVELOPING' REGIONS 6,413,020

ENGLAND TOTAL 9,381,870

 Annex B

Employment and
National Probation Directorate Commercial Contracts Group
Treasury Solicitors
Queen Anne’s Chambers, 28 Broadway
London SW1H 9JS
DX 123242 St. James’s Park
Switchboard: (020) 7210 3000 (GTN 210)
Direct Line: (020) 7210 4531
Direct Fax: (020) 7210 4512
UDatta@treasury-solicitor.gsi.gov.uk

Please Quote: AD 50043K

Your Reference:
6 July 2005

I am asked to provide a brief overview of the legal considerations regarding the transfer
aspects of the local probation board vocational education staff.

Facts

Local probation boards (LPBs) are each distinct legal persons set up under the Criminal
Justice and Court Services Act 2000. Each employs vocational education staff in order to
provide education for offenders. LPBs were formerly funded by the Offender Learning and
Skills Unit (OLSU) of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has since taken over responsibility for the
commissioning of vocational education services for offenders and is responsible for letting
contracts for these services. The LSC is now moving into the second phase of letting
vocational education contracts. The LSC will be contracting authority for the purposes of the
procurement of education services, and will contract with education providers, which may be
either public or private bodies, for the provision of education services to offenders. Staff
currently employed by the LPBs are expected to transfer to new employers as a result.

Why will staff transfer?

Procurement and Commercial Contracts Team

Simon Harker - Group Head
David Gollancz - Team Leader
Staff will transfer in order to safeguard their employment rights. The Transfer of Undertaking
(Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (as amended) (“TUPE”) implements a
European directive aimed at safeguarding employees’ rights. Employees’ rights are protected
by providing that the employees’ rights transfer from the old employer (transferor) to the new
employer (transferee).

If there is a change in the provider of education services to a prison, it is possible that TUPE
will apply. TUPE applies where there has been a transfer of a “stable economic entity” which
retains its identity after the transfer. Whether or not this test is satisfied will depend on the
precise circumstances of the arrangement.

Where TUPE does not apply as a matter of law, the LPBs are likely to be expected to act as
if TUPE does apply. The government has made a commitment to adhere to the principles of
TUPE, even in situations where it might not apply as a matter of law, and this is set out in the
Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (“COSOP”). The COSOP provides that contracting out
exercises with the private sector and transfers between different parts of the public sector
should be conducted on the basis that staff will transfer and TUPE should apply, unless there
are genuinely exceptional reasons not to do so.

Who will this affect?

The question of who is in scope for transfer is often the most difficult part of the exercise for
most employers. The legal test is whether the employee is “assigned to” or “integrated into”
the part concerned. The answer to this question will depend on the facts of each case and
should be considered on a case-by case basis. The employer should consider the nature of
the employee’s responsibilities and the time spent in the providing work which is within the
scope of the transfer.

What will this mean for the employees concerned?

Staff employed by the LPBs and assigned to the transferring services will transfer to the new
provider on the same terms and conditions as applied immediately before the transfer. The
staff will also have continuity of employment as though they had worked with the same
employer throughout.

Employees also have special protections against dismissal, including constructive dismissal.
Employees should not be subjected to a substantial change in their working conditions to
their detriment, apart from for limited “economic, technical or organisational” reasons.

“Terms” rather than “Policies”

The LPB employees have certain contractual rights and duties. These cannot be changed
without individual agreement or, in the case of terms incorporated into a contract from a
collective agreement, by amending that collective agreement. On a TUPE transfer, these
terms receive an even greater level of protection, as any transfer-related changes will be void
even if agreed. Contractual matters usually include salary, position, leave entitlement and
hours of work.

On the other hand, LPBs have certain policies and procedures which are not contractual. It
may be that these are matters of management prerogative which can be changed by the LPB
at its discretion or that they are parts of collective agreements that are not incorporated into

-2-
individual contracts. Non-contractual matters usually include rules and methods of working,
e.g. rules for reporting accidents, or rules on the constitution of promotion boards.

The problem of pensions

There is an exception to the principle that terms and conditions transfer: under TUPE,
provisions relating to occupational pension schemes which relate to old age, invalidity and
survivors benefits do not automatically transfer. A transferee does not need to put in place an
equivalent occupational pension scheme. This can obviously be a serious disadvantage to
staff who are transferred from the public sector to the private sector when services are
contracted out, as they may have their entitlement to membership of a good quality public
sector pension scheme replaced with the right to join an inferior quality scheme.

The COSOP addresses this problem by requiring that in contracting out exercises with the
private sector and transfers between different parts of the public sector, there should be
appropriate arrangements to protect occupational pensions. The COSOP refers to HM
Treasury’s Staff Transfers From Central Government: A Fair Deal For Staff Pensions which
sets out the standard practices which the government will follow when its staff are transferred
to other employers as part of a business transfer.

In relation to pensions, one of the guiding principles is stated to be that the new employer
must offer transferring staff membership of a pension scheme which, though not identical, is
“broadly comparable” to the public service pension scheme which they are leaving.

One of the lessons learned in this exercise, is that it is relatively easy to ensure the
protection of pensions entitlements of LPB employees where they transfer to public sector
education providers, such as FE colleges, but that it requires more work to ensure the
pensions entitlements of staff transferring to private sector providers.

Transfers to other public sector bodies

LPB employees have access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Further
Education colleges and some private sector contractors are often able to offer continued
membership of the LGPS.

Transfers to private sector providers

Transfers to private sector providers raise difficulties as it is often difficult for private
providers to offer pension schemes that are broadly comparable with the LGPS. Further,
there are often issues regarding the negotiation of transfer values from the LGPS to the
private sector pension fund, which may have the effect of delaying the proposed transfer.

What does this mean for the LPBs?

The LPBs really must bear in mind that this particular out-sourcing arrangement is very
unusual. Ordinarily the contracting authority is the body that is transferring staff to a new
services provider. That the LSC is responsible for the procurement of the service, raises
particular difficulties for each LPB in complying with its obligations under TUPE. It is
therefore very important that the LPBs and the LSC work together in handling the staff
transfer aspects of this project.

The LPBs should ensure that they know who is in scope for the transfer, and be able to
provide employment details of the transferring staff to the LSC in order to forward these to

-3-
the bidders. The details only need to provide an outline in the first instance, as it should be
enough to allow the bidder to make a sensible response. It should include the likely number
of transferring staff, descriptions of the respective posts and salaries and other costs
including pension costs. The LPBs should contact the Government Actuary’s Department
(GAD) in good time in order to consider the necessary pensions arrangements.

The LPBs should contact the LSC early in order to ensure that they keep informed of the
project timeline. The LPBs are under an obligation to inform staff about any proposed
transfer. This is to ensure that employees understand what is happening and why. Staff are,
rightly, likely to be concerned about the prospect of transferring their employment. The LPBs
should take the opportunity to explain that the funding situation, the proposed changes and
the rights that employees may have.

The transferee is obliged to give each LPB information about measures it envisages it will
take in connection with the transfer in relation to the staff in scope. Strictly, under TUPE,
each employer is responsible for consulting its own affected staff about its own measures.
However, it is good practice for both employers to consult jointly with the transferring staff
about measures that the transferee envisages. It would be worthwhile asking the proposed
transferee for a full list of its envisaged measures, but bear in mind that their responses may
be that they are in the early stages of planning.

Where can I get more information?

More information on the transfer of public sector staff is available by clicking the following
links:
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/publications/staff_transfers/publications_and_forms/pdf/stafftra
nsfers.pdf

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/publications/staff_transfers/publications_and_forms/doc/btapu
blicfinal.doc

I hope that this provides a helpful overview.

Kind regards,

Udi Datta
For and on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor

-4-