"Taxpayers are footing the bill for eyewatering and grossly inflated repair costs at prisons across the country as the government scrambles to keep overcrowded jails running after decades of neglect, The Independent can reveal. Private contracting costs for basic upgrades are out of control, the Prison Officers' Association (POA) has warned, describing the situation as a public disgrace that is failing to deliver value for money."
"Meanwhile, prison conditions are worse than ever, with a soaring maintenance backlog approaching 2bn, having doubled from 2020 to 2024. Some prisons are so dire that in 2023, a German court refused to extradite a criminal to Britain due to fears over inhumane conditions. A quarter of prisoners in England and Wales are locked in jails which are not fire safe, while hundreds are held in cells without toilets and forced to defecate in buckets and bags"
"Labour MP Kim Johnson said: The taxpayer has been paying twice over: first for underinvestment and bad contracts, then for the premium of reactive maintenance and emergency measures. It is feared hundreds of millions have been spent on exorbitant private sector contracts dished out by the Ministry of Justice, whose procurement has been slammed as reactive and expensive by the public spending watchdog."
Taxpayers are funding massively inflated repair and maintenance costs at overcrowded prisons across the country. Private contracting costs for basic upgrades have escalated, prompting trade union condemnation as a public disgrace and poor value for money. The maintenance backlog has doubled from 2020 to 2024 and approaches 2bn. Some facilities have inhumane conditions, leading to a 2023 German refusal to extradite over welfare concerns. A quarter of prisoners face fire-unsafe jails; hundreds lack cell toilets and are forced to use buckets overnight. Projects and capital works have suffered extreme cost overruns and delays, with millions tied up in unusable or stalled upgrades.
Read at www.independent.co.uk
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