The introduction of competition in the custodial market has brought benefit to many stakeholders as acknowledged by the NAO and also by the CBI in their recently published report-Competition, a catalyst for change in the prison service.
Contestability, The Commissioner for Correctional Services, the NAO and the CBI have all concluded that the introduction of contestability has been a valuable stimulus in raising standards across the entire prison estate.
It is not that the private sector is better than the public sector, but that competition is better than monopoly. The public wins when public services are exposed to competition and socially responsible firms are encouraged to participate.
The NAO Report has also confirmed that the public sector has obtained significant efficiency savings as a result of competition.
Clarity of Contract-Prisons with a contract or service level agreement benefit from the clarity of knowing exactly what is expected of them and the manner in which their performance will be measured. It is that same clarity that serves to 'protect' the prison from ad hoc and sometimes competing additions, variations and changing priorities.
However, PFI prison contracts generally operate for 25 years and during that time it is inevitable that correctional policy will change. It is vital therefore that contracts have the flexibility to enable them to be refreshed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that they remain at the leading edge of custodial provision. We are pleased that the Corrections Commission has already committed itself to a refresh of all PFI and management only contracts.
By way of example, Lowdham Grange is a prison contractually based around an industrial prison framework whilst the correctional agenda has moved on to one based on resettlement via education, training and offending behaviour programmes. Lowdham Grange does what it is asked to do well, but it is not necessarily being asked to do the right thing. Without that refresh, prisoners sent to Lowdham may well be disadvantaged simply by reason of the contract.