HMP Bishopbriggs: written authority - August 2007

Request for written authority

From: Mike Ewart, Chief Executive, Scottish Prison Service
To: Cabinet Secretary for Justice
Date: 20 August 2007

Request for an Accountable Officer direction: HMP Bishopbriggs

1. This note formally requests you to issue a direction under section 15(8) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, instructing me to terminate the current competition to procure a new prison at Bishopbriggs and commence a new competition to design and build a prison to be operated by the public sector.

Background

2. Under the terms of section 15(8), a Minister may authorise an Accountable Officer to take action in circumstances which, in the Accountable Officer's opinion, is inconsistent with the proper performance of his duties as an Accountable Officer. This is commonly known as an Accountable Officer Direction; such directions are most commonly given to authorise an Accountable Officer to incur expenditure where he considers that the expenditure does not represent best value. Under the terms of the Act, the Accountable Officer is required to inform the Auditor General for Scotland that a Direction has been issued and to send a copy of the Direction to the Clerk to the Audit Committee.

Bishopbriggs case

3. The current procurement process for HMP Bishopbriggs is for a design, build and operate contract for a 700-place prison. The terms of the competition were established to secure best value either from a private consortium or an in-house bid team. In the event, the in-house bid was eliminated at pre-qualification questionnaire stage. Bids from the 3 remaining private consortia are expected at the end of August.

4. As you know from earlier advice and from discussion, I am concerned that cancelling this competition and beginning a new competition to design and build a prison for public sector operation will result in significant additional expenditure (because of the gap in cost efficiency between public and private operation) and import significant delay into the project (because the procurement process will effectively go back to start). However, it is an important matter of principle and policy for you to draw a line in the sand and ensure that future new prisons are publicly owned and operated.

5. I understand and will fully support your policy direction. So far as any future prison construction may be concerned, I fully accept that there will effectively be no option of private operation to consider; and the question of an Accountable Officer Direction would not arise. However, the current circumstances involve the cancellation of an existing competition which has been overtly premised on the need to secure best value. I therefore request that you formally direct me to terminate this competition and begin another.