Chamber and committees

Was that the first point at which you realised that there was a problem in terms of the profitability of the Scottish side?

Our experience of talking to GEOAmey is that it seemed fairly open. Was GEOAmey open to you during these discussions?

I will just interrupt. If the financials are tied up with England and Wales, did GEOAmey bust the figures out for Scotland?

I am just wondering, as there was public money going in, the extent to which due diligence was carried out and whether people were satisfied that the situation was as stated.

Neil, I think you said that you accept the Auditor General’s report. Do you also accept the statements made by His Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons for Scotland? On 14 March, she said that performance of the contract had “improved” but that it required significant

“effort from the justice partners and further input of cash and, given the history,”

that she had

“absolutely no confidence that it is sustainable.”—[Official Report, Public Audit Committee, 14 March 2024; c 18-19.]

Is she correct?

You disagree with HMIPS on that?

What consideration did the SPS and the Scottish Government give to GEOAmey’s ability to finance the increased cost of delivering the contract, before committing public funds?

Is that still the situation?

That is interesting. Obviously, public funds were being committed, so you must have carried out some due diligence on GEOAmey at that point. How extensive was that due diligence?

As of a couple of months ago, was HMIPS correct in her assessment that the situation was not improving?