Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the agreement of the G4S board to a £3.8bn takeover bid from Allied Universal, what assessment he has made of (a) the ability of Allied Universal to operate HMP Five Wells and (b) the potential merits of awarding the contract to run HMP Five Wells to the public sector.

We are working closely with G4S to ensure there is no impact or disruption to the delivery of the services and obligations under each of G4S’ contracts with the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. This includes the mobilisation of HMP Five Wells to the agreed delivery plan, ready to accept its first prisoners in January 2022. We will also continue to work closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure we understand and can consider any implications that arise through the takeover process.