Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2019 to Question 251409 on Prisons: Contracts, what assessment he has made of how minimum staffing levels potentially effect the ability of private prison operators to innovate provision; and if he will make a statement.

No specific assessment has been made of how minimum staffing levels potentially affect the ability of private prison operators to innovate provision, however, the issue of staffing will be subject to thorough scrutiny.

Our contracts with current private prison operators set out the services they are required to deliver and the standards they are expected to reach. There is no requirement in the contracts to agree staffing levels with the Ministry of Justice. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to determine and maintain the number of staff necessary to discharge the requirements of the contract.

To manage the performance indicators set out in the contracts, each privately managed prison has a full-time on-site Controller, Deputy Controller and Assistant Controller, all employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators that will reflect numbers of staff in post, recruitment, training, sickness, and attrition. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.

Mandating minimum staffing levels for private prison operators would restrict their ability to introduce and foster innovation, and their flexibility to adjust their staffing levels across the lifetime of the contract according to the needs and demands created by any changes to the prison population or in risk. It could also deter them from engaging with expertise and professional support in the local and wider community and hinder their ability to respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities.

Private prisons have been recognised for their innovation, for example:

• HMP Altcourse has been praised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) for its innovative approach to violence reduction.
• HMP Parc founded a ground-breaking families intervention programme that has been replicated in the Netherlands and continues to receive international praise.
• Prisoners at HMP Lowdham Grange introduced a photobooth in March last year, as part of efforts to help families and children have a more positive experience of visiting their fathers. HMIP described this as a “good innovation”.

As part of the Prison Operator Competition we will expect bidders to adequately resource their respective establishments to deliver a safe, decent and secure regime. We will robustly evaluate bidder responses for both quality and cost, in consultation with subject matter experts across the organisation using a public sector compactor, which includes proposed staffing levels. This will provide assurance that bidders have the resources required to ensure a safe, decent, secure and rehabilitative regime that delivers quality, value for money and affordability.