Prisons: Private Sector

(asked on 3rd September 2018) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the failings identified at HMP Birmingham will not be replicated in (a) HMP Altcourse, (b) HMP Ashfield, (c) HMP Bronzefield, (d) HMP Doncaster, (e) HMP Dovegate, (f) HMP/YOI Forest Bank, (g) HMP Lowdham Grange, (h) HMP Oakwood, (i) HMP/YOI Parc, (j) HMP Peterborough, (k) HMP Rye Hill, (l) HMP Thameside and (m) HMP Northumberland.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 11th September 2018

We have some good, innovative prisons run by the private sector, which highlights the benefits of a mixed economy approach to this service. We will continue to robustly monitor the contracts of the other privately-managed prisons to ensure that they deliver the highest possible standards in prison care. Each privately managed prison has an on-site Controller who is accountable to a designated HM Prison and Probation Service Senior Contract Manager who is responsible for monitoring whether the contract is being delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prisons provide safe, decent and secure services, in line with HMPPS performance standards.

G4S run good prisons at Altcourse, Oakwood, Parc and Ryehill. They have struggled to achieve the progress required at Birmingham since the serious concerted indiscipline in December 2016 but we are determined to do what is necessary to improve the performance of the prison.

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