Serco awarded contract to run new UK prison

Above: The planned new prison in Leicestershire.
Courtesy Serco

The new contract has an estimated value of more than £300 million over a 10-year term and the MoJ has the option to extend the contract for a further two one-year terms.

HMP & YOI Fosse Way is a new build Category ‘C’ resettlement prison near Leicester, which will house up to 1,715 prisoners. It is expected to open in early 2023. As a resettlement prison, HMP & YOI Fosse Way will have a strong focus on rehabilitation with an emphasis on safety, security and decency and will have a range of fully integrated services designed to reduce re-offending and prepare prisoners for release and transition back into the community.

Post completion of the build, Serco will be responsible for management, operation and maintenance of the prison. In the coming months Serco will be recruiting a new workforce of around 550 employees from the Leicestershire and Midlands catchment areas.

Commenting on the award, Heath Chapple, Managing Director of Serco’s Justice and Immigration business, said: “Serco is delighted to have been awarded a contract to run this new prison for the Ministry of Justice. Based on our experience of managing prisons in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Serco will be able to provide a secure, safe and decent environment aimed at reducing re-offending through education, employment, respect, equality and inclusion. We have a strong management team with an excellent track record, and we look forward with confidence to providing an establishment of which the Ministry of Justice, our employees and our partners can be proud.”

Serco has a strong 25-year track record of successfully running prisons. This currently includes five in England, one in Scotland, one in New Zealand and four in Australia which, following the 2020 opening of the new Clarence Correctional Centre in New South Wales, includes Australia’s two largest prisons.