Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the potential benefits of outsourcing services and providing services in-house.

The Government is committed to ensuring professional Facility Management services across its prison and probation estate. A 2023 assessment conducted in partnership with the Cabinet Office determined that an insourced solution was not the preferred option for future prison and probation maintenance services. Financial analysis determined that an outsourced option would be more cost effective and deliver the best value for money. A programme of work has been initiated that will put in place new contracts for the provision of maintenance services for prisons and probation. These are being competitively tendered. However, this approach is kept under constant review to ensure we get the best value for taxpayers’ money.