Written evidence from Serco

Q78-9              UK CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUSINESS AWARDED TO SERCO BETWEEN 11 JULY 2013 AND 30 JANUARY 2014

1.              Ministry of Justice.

• Expansion to HMP Thameside (variation to existing contract).

2.              Ministry of Defence.

• Windfarm Mitigation modifications to T92 Radar at RRHs Buchan and Benbecula (new contract).

• Operation and maintenance support to RAF Fylingdales (on rebid).

• Multi Engine Pilot Training (MEPT) at RAF Cranwell (on rebid).

• Contemporary Operating Environment Force (COEFOR) (extension to existing contract).

• Defence Academy Campus Integrator (service variation tasks under existing contract).

• Armed Forces Training Vessels (additional tasks under existing contract).

3.               Other Government Department.

•    ******* (extension to existing contract).

Q86-8              COMPARATIVE COSTS BETWEEN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS IN THE AUSTRALIAN CUSTODIAL MARKET

4.              Mr Soames was referring to figures in the Report of an Announced Inspection of Acacia Prison by the Western Australian (WA) Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, published June 2014.

 5.              The report says (ref. p8, s. 1.25) ‘Understandably, people often ask not only about the total cost of Acacia but about the relative costs of public and private sector prisons. This is a very difficult comparison to make. The figure of $155 per prisoner per day for Acacia certainly sits well below the average cost per prisoner per day across the state, which was $317 in 2012–2013’.

6.              The figure of $155 consists of a direct cost of  $132 per prisoner per day to Serco for its contract (ref. p7 s. 1.19), a cost to the WA Department of Corrective Service of $19.83 per prisoner per day and a cost for the maintenance contract of $2.80 per prisoner per day (ref. p8 s. 1.23).

7.              Overall the cost from the Government of Western Australia to Serco, per prisoner per day, is 41 per cent of the cost, per prisoner per day, in Prisons run directly by the State Department of Corrective Services. The full report is publically available at http://www.oics.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/OICS-Report-90-Acacia.pdf

8.              Background.               Please note:

•              Acacia Prison is the largest prison in Western Australia, with a capacity of 1000 prisoners. Serco has held the contract for Prison Services for Acacia Prison since May 2006. The contract term is until May 2016.

•              The  Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services provides accountability to the Western Australian corrections system and assurance to the community through the inspection and review of custodial services, with publically available reports tabled in Western Australian Parliament, governed under the Inspector of Custodial Services Act 2003. 

•              Corrections and Prison Management sit within the State, not Federal, jurisdiction. Therefore the answer above is for the State of Western Australia. Mr Bacon’s question regarding the Australian Public Service Cost cannot be answered as the Australian Public Service is not responsible for corrections or prisons, and each state operates independently.

Q108-110              PAYMENT BY RESULTS PILOT AT HMP & YOI DONCASTER

9.              A pilot was launched in October 2011 at HMP & YOI Doncaster to test the potential impact of a Payment by Results (PbR) model on reducing reconvictions among prison leavers. The pilot is being delivered by Serco and its voluntary sector partners, Catch22 and Turning Point (collectively known as ‘the Alliance’) and was originally intended to run for four years, with each cohort year running from October to September. The pilot has involved both interventions while offenders were serving their sentences in prison and the provision of ‘through the gate’ support to them after they were released.

10.              The impact of the PbR pilot is being assessed using a binary outcome measure, which is the proportion of prison leavers who are convicted of one or more offences in the 12 months following their release. The target reduction in the re-offending rate is 5%, measured against the baseline year, 2009, and 10% of Serco’s operating fee is withheld pending achievement of that target.

11.              The Alliance decided to focus support on offenders serving sentences of less than

12 months who would otherwise not receive any statutory community support. Through Catch22’s links with various community support agencies a network was established to support offenders on their release, increasing their opportunity to engage in further education, employment, and settled accommodation. The pilot also involves a volunteering scheme to provide offenders with additional support (e.g. mentoring).

12.              HMP& YOI Doncaster is a local prison serving the courts and communities of the South Yorkshire area. To deliver support to prison leavers within the PbR pilot, Serco and its partners had to liaise with a wide range of local authorities and community support agencies across the metropolitan areas of Doncaster, Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley.

13.              To facilitate a consistent approach to the implementation of the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms across England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice announced on 6 February 2014 that no new participants will enter the Doncaster pilot beyond the end of 2014. Specifically, no new participants will enter the pilot after the end of cohort 3 which concludes at the end of September 2014.

14.              The latest process evaluation of the PbR pilot at HMP & YOI Doncaster can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-hmp-doncaster-payment-by-results-pilot-phase-2-findings.

15.              The report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on HMP & YOI Doncaster published on 13 August 2014 contained a number of criticisms of the prison. Serco fully accepts the Chief Inspector’s recommendations and, as Mr Thorburn told the Committee on 8 September, we believe that the focus on the PbR pilot did divert effort from other aspects of operating the prison. Commenting on the report for the Ministry of Justice, Michael Spurr, Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service, said:

‘Doncaster has developed high quality training and resettlement programmes for short term offenders – which have been successful in cutting rates of reoffending. This is a significant achievement. But at the time of this inspection other aspects of performance in the prison had dropped below the standards we expect.

‘Serco took immediate action in response to the inspection findings – strengthening the management team; prioritising safety and implementing a comprehensive improvement programme.

‘I am confident that these actions have addressed the concerns identified by HMCIP but we will monitor progress closely to ensure the prison is able to deliver its regime safely and securely.’

17 September 2014