§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the benefits from the contract with Group 4 Ltd. for court services in Merseyside, Greater Manchester and north Wales.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
688WLetter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Peter Thurnham, dated 15 February 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about court escorting and custody services in the North West.Group 4 has been awarded the contract for the court escort and custody service in the North West (Area 6). Based on the tender submitted, the terms of the contract and prior experience, this contract is expected to lead to fewer escapes, a better quality service to the courts, less disruption to the police and Prison Service, and lower costs.Experience in the East Midlands and the Metropolitan Police District shows that there are fewer escapes than occurred when the police and Prison Service were responsible for escorts. In the East Midlands, where Group 4 has been running the service for more than a year, escapes are now 40 per cent. fewer than under the previous arrangements.Contract standards are enforceable, with penalties for non-compliance. Two full time Prison Service monitors will be based in the contract area carrying out regular spot checks. In a recent survey in the East Midlands, over 90 per cent. of court staff said that Group 4 was providing a service as good or better than under the previous arrangements.Contracting out this task also relieves prison and police officers of a non core task, enabling them to concentrate on more important duties. Police forces and prisons will be relieved of a task which is unpredictable in its demands and will no longer have to redeploy officers to meet unexpected peaks. They will be able to plan better how to use their resources most effectively.The overall cost saving, following the award of Area 6 to Group 4 is estimated to be £11 million or 14 per cent. Duplication between the police and Prison Service will be eliminated.