Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on companies that are under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for overcharging his Department being permitted to bid for the contract to build new private prisons.

On 26 June 2018 it was announced that it is the department’s intention to use public capital to build a new prison at the former HMP Wellingborough and launch a competition to appoint a framework of prison operators, from which we will select the operator for the new prison at Wellingborough and potentially further prisons following expiry of current private sector contracts. The Department also announced that it intends to build a second prison, at Glen Parva, funded through private finance. We intend to explore funding options, including private finance, for the remaining prison places.

The Ministry of Justice will, in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations and relevant Government policies, take into account the past experience and performance, including the conclusions of any on-going investigations, of any company expressing an interest in bidding. We will also ensure through the tender process, that any company bidding has the capability and capacity to run the contracts effectively. It is intended that the contract for any prisons built using private finance will include the provision of facilities management.

The private sector plays an important role in the provision of prison capacity (providing approximately 17% of total capacity as at the end of September) and will continue to do so in years to come. Due to the changeable operational and contractual environment associated with the provision of prison places by the private sector, it is not possible to identify the number of prison places that will be managed by the private sector estate in 2020 and 2022.