HC Deb 29 June 1995 vol 262 cc767-9W
Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many new cellular vehicles are required for the court escort contracts still to be let; and at what cost to the Prison Service; [29962]

(2) how many and on what dates new vehicles are still to be delivered to Group 4 and Securicor for the court escort service; [29961]

(3) how was the cost of providing new cellular vehicles taken into account when calculating and publishing the Prison Service's savings through contracting out the court escort service; [29963]

(4) what was the value of each of the unsuccessful bids to provide new cellular vehicles for the court escort service; [29982]

(5) on what date the decision was taken to provide new cellular vehicles for the court escort services; which companies tendered for the supply of cellular vehicles; and which companies won contracts to supply cellular vehicles; [29959]

(6) what is the cost to the Prison Service of the successful bid to provide new cellular vehicles for the court escort service. [29960]

Mr. Michael Forsyth

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 Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about cellular vehicles used by court escort contractors. The vehicles used by private contractors for transporting prisoners to and from court are built to a specification required by the Prison Service. The procurement of the vehicles, whether purchased or leased, is undertaken by the court escort contractor. For those contracts still to be let, the tenderers' proposals will identify how many vehicles will be required and the type/size of vehicle best suited to the expected volume of prisoner movements, the geography of the contract area, the locations to be served and the detailed operational specification. These proposals will be compared and evaluated as part of the process leading up to contract award. Once the court escort service contract has been awarded, it is the responsibility of the contractor to acquire the vehicles required and have them ready for use by the required date. Although we check that the vehicle programme is proceeding to plan we do not monitor the detail of delivery schedules and consequently we do not hold information on the precise numbers and dates regarding new vehicles still to be delivered. The cost of vehicles, which the contractor may purchase or lease, forms part of the overall contract price. Information about the cost of the vehicles, or about any other individual element within the total contract price, is a matter for the contractor. This applies to successful and unsuccessful tenders alike. To calculate the savings from contracting out court escort services, the contract price for the first year of full operation was compared with the estimated cost in the same year of continuing the previous arrangements. In estimating the latter, account was taken of vehicle costs, inclusive of depreciation.

Mr. Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what system the Prison Service has in place to monitor the standards of maintenance and general safety of the cellular vehicles used by Group 4 and Securicor; [29964]

(2) what is the annual cost to the Prison Service of monitoring the standards of maintenance and general safety of the cellular vehicles used by Group 4 and Securicor; [29966]

(3) on whom will fall the cost of new safety measures for existing cellular vehicles; [29968]

(4) what estimate he has made of the cost of providing safety measures, other than seat belts, for staff and prisoners in all existing cellular vehicles; [29981]

(5) on what date and on what basis the decision was taken not to fit seat belts for staff and prisoners in new cellular vehicles in court escort; [29965]

(6) what is the estimated cost of fitting seat belts to all existing cellular vehicles in the court escort service. [29967]

Mr. Forsyth

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 Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 29 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about safety in cellular vehicles used in court escort contracts. Contractors may only use cellular vehicles if they comply with the demanding vehicle performance specification set out both in the invitation to tender for court escort and custody services and in the contract. The specification is the same as the one used by the Prison Service for its own new cellular vehicles and takes account of all the relevant legislation, including that on safety. Once a contract has been awarded, it is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure the vehicles are always properly maintained and roadworthy. The contractor's responsibilities are the same as any other operator of a passenger carrying, or public services vehicle. This means that the vehicles must be awarded a certificate of initial fitness under the Public Service Vehicle (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) Regulations 1981 and they must be inspected annually by the Department of Transport Vehicle Inspectorate Agency. In addition, the contractor's operational procedures, which have to be agreed with the Prison Service before operation, require vehicle crews to undertake daily checks before the vehicles can be used. The contractor's vehicles must comply with the performance specification laid down. The cost of those vehicles and their maintenance forms part of the overall cost of the contract to the Authority. Modifications are occasionally made to the specification, for example to take account of any new relevant legislation or in the light of developments in vehicle design. However, it would be unusual to apply such modifications retrospectively to existing vehicles. The cost of any modification to an existing vehicle would fall to the Authority if it represented a new requirement but to the contractor if the change was covered by the existing performance specification. Existing safety measures form part of the overall cost of a vehicle and the cost of providing any additional measures would depend upon their nature. Seat belts for passengers are not required by law to be fitted in cellular vehicles. Their installation has been considered but the view has been taken, since the first specification was drawn up in 1989, that seat belts might be used by prisoners to attempt suicide or inflict self harm or as a weapon. The cost of providing seat belts would depend on the type of belt used, the number of mounting points required and the type of construction employed on the vehicle. It is estimated that the cost could be between £75 and £300 per seat.