Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that private contractors invest in prisons throughout the length of the management contract.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for the management of the 14 private prisons in England and Wales.
The terms of each contract include an agreed level of service. There are financial remedies which apply where a provider fails to achieve this expected level of performance, making sure that they have an incentive to properly support the rehabilitation of offenders on an ongoing basis.
There are clear processes in place to monitor performance and identify emerging issues. Each private prison has an on-site Controller, accountable for providing assurance that the contracts for each prison are delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in line with performance standards.