Prison Service Ruled Out Of Running Scotland’s New Jail

The future of a new £100 million prison, set to house one tenth of Scotland’s inmates, has been thrown into uncertainty after a public sector bid to run the jail was rejected.

The prison management and union-led move to build and operate the 700-capacity facility on the site of the existing Low Moss jail, near Bishopbriggs, has been ruled out by civil servants – appearing to pave the way for a third privately-run prison.

Scotland has one private jail – Kilmarnock – and a second, at Addiewell, West Lothian, will also be run by the private sector. A third would give Scotland the world’s biggest proportion of inmates in private jails.

But last night the project became shrouded in uncertainty when the SNP reiterated its opposition to private prisons.

Kenny MacAskill, the SNP’s justice spokesman, said: “Our position is prisons will be built by construction companies in the private sector but they must be owned, run and operated by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). Their primary objective must be the protection of the public, not private profit.”

He insisted there was no reason why the current tendering process could not be halted.

“Have they given it to anyone? No. Are there any contracts to be cancelled? No.

“All they have done is decide that the prison service is not in the running. Our view is this is a political decision, not a commercial decision.”

Originally intended to open in 2010, the prison is already understood to be as much as two years behind schedule because of the lengthy row over planning permission.

Prison service leaders want work to begin on the jail as soon possible to ease prison overcrowding, with the number of inmates reaching a record of about 7,300 in recent weeks.

The existing prison at Low Moss, which can hold up to 300 inmates, will close at the end of the month because it is regarded as unfit, putting further pressure on overcrowded jails.

But with Scotland currently in political limbo and the potential for legal challenges from any successful bidder, and political ones against a minority administration, the project could be hit with further lengthy delays.

In March the public sector bidding team was, along with private firms, invited to outline their plans in what is known as a pre-qualification questionnaire.

But on Tuesday the Prison Officers Association (POA) in Scotland received a letter from the SPS, which is overseeing the tendering process, saying its bid did not stand up to scrutiny.

Derek Turner, the union’s assistant secretary, said: “We received a letter saying that we had failed to comply properly with some of the tendering rules. There’s no appeal, so the whole thing is dead. It’s absolutely appalling. It means we could end up with 30 per cent of the prison estate in private hands.”

A spokesman for the SPS said: “All interested parties who submitted a pre-qualifying questionnaire have been notified of the outcome. It is not appropriate to comment further on this as the procurement process is ongoing.”

Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell, the party’s justice spokeswoman before the election, said: “If the courts deem that a prison sentence needs to be handed out, we must ensure there are enough places in jail. Any delay to Low Moss would not be forgiven by the public.”