§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the decision to award a contract to Sodexho to run two private female prisons. [16800]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 22 November 2001]: No contracts for private prisons have been awarded to Sodexho. On 5 November, the Prison Service announced that UKDS, which is wholly owned by Sodexho Alliance, had been selected as the preferred bidder for a new prison for 450 females to be built as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) at Ashford, Middlesex and due to open in July 2003. UKDS was also announced as joint preferred bidder, with Premier Custodial Group, for a new prison for 480 males and 360 females to be built as a PPP at Peterborough and due to open in April 2004. A decision on the single preferred bidder for Peterborough is anticipated in early December. The award of preferred bidder is taken on the basis of best value for money.