§ Mr. LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has received on the possible effect that private prisons might have on the speed of new prison construction, efficiency, humane conditions and hygiene; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggA number of the submissions made in response to the Green Paper "Private Sector 393W Involvement in the Remand System" (Cm. 434) contained evidence about claimed benefits from such involvement. In the course of their study, which led to their report to the Home Office, made public on 1 March, the management consultants Deloitte, Haskins and Sells carried out extensive research to determine whether private sector involvement on the lines envisaged would be viable and beneficial. They concluded that, on certain assumptions and subject to further examination of certain issues, private sector involvement in the operation of new remand centres would be feasible and could provide scope for the cost-effective provision of a better standard of service than that now obtained. As my right hon. Friend announced on 1 March at columns 277–8, further work is now in hand to test those findings.