16 April 2004
Two more English prisons face having their management contracted out to the private sector unless they radically improve their performance.
Martin Narey, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said that Wandsworth prison in south London and Hindley young offenders' institution in Wigan would be required to go through the performance-testing regime.
Over the next six months, both prisons will be obliged to submit proposals outlining what they intend to do to turn round performance. If successful, the institutions will be awarded a Service Level Agreement, but if not they will be contracted out.
'Governors and their staff must know and understand that we are committed to improving standards and need to work together to achieve this end, otherwise I will have no hesitation in contracting the prison out to the private sector,' Narey said.
Although Narey acknowledged that Wandsworth had made some improvements, he said rates of change had not matched those at other local prisons. At Hindley, high rates of staff sickness and a lack of willingness among some staff to change were hampering improvement.
Narey said he was not trying to shame the prisons into improving. 'Previous performance tests have shown that the process can be a catalyst that not only increases the rate of progress but also allows staff to recognise what they can achieve and feel more confident in doing that,' he said.
Prison Service director Phil Wheatley said he was confident that testing would help Wandsworth and Hindley improve. 'Performance testing has proved successful at all of the six prisons that have previously been through the process,' he said. 'Each establishment has significantly improved its performance and is now in a far better position to move forward than before the performance test.'
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