Her Majesty's Prison Manchester

HC Deb 30 April 1993 vol 223 cc561-2W

Mr. Blair

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps are being taken to ensure that Mr. C. D. Sherwood will be unable to use information relating to bids for the contract to manage Her Majesty's prison Manchester when advising Mancare regarding rebidding on costs;

(2) when Mr. C. D. Sherwood's immediate superiors became aware that he had been approached by Mancare regarding possible employment; and when Mr. Sherwood was recruited by Mancare;

(3) what role Mr. C. D. Sherwood had in assessing bids for the contract to manage Her Majesty's prison Manchester.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility 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.

Letter from Mr. I. Dunbar to Mr. Tony Blair, dated 30 April 1993:

In the temporary absence of Mr. Lewis, the Director General, from the office, the Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about a member of staff who has reported an offer of outside employment by one of the companies involved in the bidding for the management of HM Prison Manchester.

Mr. Sherwood informed his immediate manager in the Remands Contracts Unit on 7 April that he had been sounded out about the possibility of employment in the private sector and that he wished to hold open the possibility of seeking approval for. such a move at a later stage. Given the circumstances, he left the Unit that day. His departure took place 6 days before the tenders for the management of HM Prison Manchester were opened, which took place after 12 noon on 13 April under the sealed bid procedure. Mr. Sherwood has therefore had no access to our role in assessing bids for the contract.

Mr. Sherwood is still employed by the Prison Service. Were he to submit a formal application for permission to take up an outside posting with the company in question or any other organisation, it would be considered in the normal way under the Business Appointment Rules. This includes seeking the views of competitors, with a view to determining what conditions might need to be imposed on the taking up of the appointment.