Private Prisons (Hansard, 13 July 1994)

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what services are provided to his Department by(a) Wackenhut and (b) Wackenhut Corrections Corporation other than running prisons.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
The named companies are not under contract with the Home Office to provide any services other than running prisons.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances there is a bar on awarding contracts for private prisons to companies whose parent companies, subsidiaries or consortium partners have been in breach of the criminal law in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

§ 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 Philippa Drew to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about whether any bar exists on awarding contracts to private companies whose parent companies, subsidiaries or consortium partners have been in breach of the criminal law in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. The Prison Service awards contracts in accordance with the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993 Section IV, paragraph 14(1)(d) of the Regulations, amongst other matters, provides that a contracting authority may treat a services provider as ineligible to tender for, or to be included amongst those persons from whom it will make the selection of persons to be invited to tender for or to negotiate a contract, on the grounds that the services provider has been convicted of a criminal offence relating to the conduct of his business or profession. An assessment of whether a services provider should be treated in this way would include considering the nature of the service to be provided to the Prison Service and the nature of the business that led to a conviction for a criminal offence.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what security checks and clearances were made by his Department on(a) Wackenhut and (b) Wackenhut Corrections Corporation prior to the award of the contract to manage Doncaster prison;
(2) what checks were made on (a) Wackenhut and (b) Wackenhut Corrections Corporation by his Department prior to the award of the contract to manage Doncaster prison to Premier Prison Services.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Responsibility for these matters 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 Philippa Drew to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent 660W Questions about security checks and clearances made by his Department on (a) Wackenhut and (b) Wackenhut Corrections Corporation prior to the award of the contract to manage Doncaster Prison. Checks were carried out in accordance with Part IV, paragraph 14(1) of the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No. 3228).

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff at Blakenhurst prison have(a) resigned and (b) been dismissed since the prison opened.

§ 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 Philippa Drew to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of staff at Blakenhurst Prison who have (a) resigned and (b) been dismissed since the prison opened. 42 staff have resigned and six have been dismissed.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is the Crown monitor at Doncaster Prison; and at what grade is the post.

§ 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 Brian Landers to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about who is the Crown Monitor at Doncaster Prison; and at what grade is their post. The controller at Doncaster prison, who is a Crown servant, is a Governor Grade 2.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many managerial staff working at(a) Blakenhurst prison and (b) Doncaster prison are former employees of the Prison Service.

§ 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 Brian Landers to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of managerial staff working at Blakenhurst and Doncaster prisons who are former employees of the Prison Service. There are nine former employees of the Prison Service working at Blakenhurst prison and eight at Doncaster prison. All are employed in senior or middle management positions.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what trade unions are recognised by Premier Prison Services Ltd. at Doncaster prison.

§ 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.
661W
Letter from Brian Landers to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about which trade unions are recognised by Premier Prison Services Ltd at Doncaster Prison. It is Premier Prison Services' company policy to allow the staff in each establishment, on a site-by-site basis, to decide whether they wish to be represented by a trade union in discussion on conditions of employment. However, during the start up of a new operation, representation will be by way of a locally elected staff association. Such a staff association is in the process of being established at Doncaster Prison.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what trade unions are recognised by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd., at Blakenhurst prison.

§ 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 Brian Landers to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 13 July 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about which trade unions are recognised by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. at Blakenhurst Prison. It is not UKDS' current intention to recognise any particular union for negotiation of terms of employment for any individual employee or groups of employees. A Staff Consultative Committee has been established to enable representative staff members to meet with senior management on a regular and formal basis.