Recent examples of how Group Operations works with our business areas to deliver excellence: Supporting delivery of seven years of good financial health grade for our group, critical to our estates strategy  Successfully implementing business partner model, and associated new finance systems including Business World Organisational delivery with strong IT infrastructure certified to ISO levels - ISO27001, ISO22301 Key part of Prisons Education Framework contract including development and implementation of new IT solution Significant improvements across our group towards gaining new framework standard ISO 45001 Development of a people strategy for 4,200 colleagues  Upskilling of managers in managing people issues such as discipline and grievance cases, reducing central team costs Development of a recognition strategy including increasingly popular Outstanding Achievement Awards event Launch and embedding of group and distinct brands, with clearly defined marketing and communication strategies  Implemented highly-refined model for marketing recruitment performance to drive student numbers in key markets combining online and offline expertise Development and implementation of HUB, new colleague intranet based on Sharepoint Innovative use of Power BI for tracking enrolment pipeline and learner data for attendance and funding requirements Implementation of a comprehensive Group wide risk management process Policy radar on central, regional and local government – awareness and influence of key policy developments in justice, further and higher education among multiple areas Group lead on business research analytics and insight to inform business planning and development Connecting research sources and intelligence, market / competitor insights and trend spotting, to provide analysis and recommendations in support of the group’s strategic aims Group Professional Services and Group FunctionsCreated Developed as part of the LTE Group launch in 2016.Number of colleagues Total of 350 primarily located at our Wythenshawe Campus in Manchester, with colleagues co-located across multiple campus and business locations.Vision Provide high quality professional advice and expertise, along with highly efficient (best value) transactional processes to underpin the service delivery of our businesses for our learners.Delivery Leaders in supporting delivery of BAU services synchronised with core business cycles.

The figures provided include LTE Group & all subsidiaries. Figures relating to Total People or any individual business unit within the Group are available on request. Our Scheme follows the model Publication Scheme produced for Further Education Colleges by the Information Commission's office.

A recent study by the think tank IPPR North warned of  ‘chronic underinvestment’ in northern infrastructure  projects. It found more than half of the UK’s total spending on transport networks is invested in London, with just  20 percent in the North . Indeed, few delegates raised their hands when conference moderator, the BBC R4 Today presenter, John Humphrys, asked if they were optimistic about a positive Brexit deal.

If anything, it proves the point that properly investing in prisoner learning - alongside improving the prison estate and properly supporting prison officers - will lead to further reductions in reoffending. The total yearly cost of reoffending to the tax payer has been conservatively estimated by the National Audit Office at between £7.4 and £10.7 billion.