MITIE was selected following a competition between a number of providers, and the partnership arrangement will start immediately.
This agreement signals a new approach to competition for the Prison Service who will harness the expertise and experience of both organisations to enable the public sector to submit competitive proposals for the 15-year prison contracts.
Steve Wagstaffe, director of public sector prisons, said: “The partnership with MITIE will allow us to combine our respective strengths, skills and experience to help produce compelling bids for each of the establishments we are bidding for. Public servants will be responsible for the core operational work involved in running prisons and a number of key services will be delivered by MITIE under the contract. I very much look forward to working with MITIE in the coming months.”
Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, the CEO of MITIE Group plc, explained: “We’re delighted to have formed this partnership with the Prison Service. MITIE has invested significantly in the justice sector, and this new agreement is really important for us. We are committed to improving services, introducing innovation and creating efficiency in every contract we operate.”
The Business Leader of the Year for 2011 concluded: “The partnership of our organisations and the experience, commitment and skills of our teams will create a really compelling and competitive proposition for prisons management in the years ahead.”
HM Prison Service: the fine detail
Her Majesty’s Prison Service serves the public by keeping in custody those committed by the courts. Its duty is to look after those individuals with humanity and help them lead law-abiding and useful lives both when in custody and post-release.
The basic vision is to:
- provide the very best prison services so that HM Prison Service is ‘the provider of choice’
- work towards this vision by securing objectives
Those key objectives are to protect the public and provide what commissioners want to purchase by:
- holding prisoners securely
- reducing the risk of prisoners re-offending
- providing safe and well-ordered establishments in which prisoners are treated humanely, decently and lawfully
In securing these objectives HM Prison Service adheres to the following principles:
- work in close partnership with its commissioners and others in the Criminal Justice System to achieve common objectives
- obtain best value from the resources available using research to ensure effective correctional practice
- promote diversity, equality of opportunity and combat unlawful discrimination
- ensure staff have the right leadership, organisation, support and preparation to carry out their work effectively