Sodexo Justice Services awarded £250m prison contract

Sodexo Justice Services has been awarded the contract by the Ministry of Justice to manage HMP Northumberland.

The 15-year contract to run HMP Northumberland – only the second public-sector prison to be transferred to a private-sector operator – is worth an estimated £250m over the contract term. 

The contract will commence on 1 December 2013 and will see Sodexo Justice Services take responsibility for Northumberland prison which houses over 1,300 male prisoners.

Since 1993 Sodexo Justice Services has been a trusted partner to UK governments - protecting the public and rehabilitating offenders through its justice services and full operation of prisons.

Sodexo Justice Services built and operates one prison in Scotland and three in England, including one of the UK’s largest, HMP Forest Bank in Manchester, which holds over 1,400 male offenders.

Tony Leech, managing director of Sodexo Justice Services, said: “We are delighted to have won the HMP Northumberland contract. We have a significant track record of managing prisons in the UK and we will transfer this expertise and experience to the contract for HMP Northumberland.

“We will work closely with our new colleagues at the prison to build on what has already been achieved and introduce new initiatives and innovation. Our vision is to develop it into a working prison, providing meaningful work for prisoners which will lead to enhanced employment opportunities on their release.”

Ian Blakeman, Director of Commissioning and Commercial for the National Offender Management Service, said: "Sodexo produced a compelling bid for HMP Northumberland and we are confident that under their management the prison will go from strength to strength, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for the public while also generating savings of £129.8m over the lifetime of the contract.

"We look forward to working with Sodexo and the excellent staff at the prison over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition."