Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the Government has made on discussions with the Duchy of Cornwall on the future of HMP Dartmoor; and what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of retaining that site within the prison estate beyond 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Discussions with the Duchy of Cornwall regarding the future of HMP Dartmoor are ongoing, and it is not possible to provide an update on progress without prejudicing the outcome of those commercial negotiations. The potential for Dartmoor to remain operational as a prison beyond 2023 is similarly dependent on the outcome of the discussions.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will investigate the failure of the prisoner transport constructor GeoAmey to deliver three defendants to Plymouth Crown Court on 28 October 2016; and what the cost to the public purse was of that failure.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
This incident has been investigated and the Contractor, GEOAmey, has accepted they failed to deliver one of the defendants by the time ordered by the Judge. The Judge’s Order was overlooked and instead arrangements were made to deliver that particular defendant to court at the time usually expected under the Contract, based on the distance from the prison where they were held to the court. The other two defendants were delivered to court on time in line with contractual arrangements.
Liquidated damages are a standard tariff applied to all contractors as a genuine pre-estimate of probable loss based on the cost of delay to the court and which are applied incrementally according to the amount of time delayed. The liquidated damages incurred for the delay to Plymouth Crown Court on 28 October are £2,094.75 and will be paid by GEOAmey as required under the Contract.