Wincanton in partnership with Serco, the service and business outsourcing provider, have been awarded a contract with the Ministry of Justice to provide prisoner escort and custody services for London and the East of England.
The full contract value is £42m a year with Wincanton providing services to support the delivery of the contract for Serco.
The initial contract will run for seven years with options to extend by a further three years thereafter. Wincanton will provide logistical support to Serco for the secure transport of prisoners between prisons, police stations and courts across the South East of England. While at court, staff manage custody suites and accompany prisoners in courtroom docks.
Serco will manage the day to day operations, employing the specialist crews or prison custody officers and supplying the key management systems. Wincanton will be responsible for providing logistical expertise across key functions including the provision and maintenance of the specialist fleet, activity scheduling and vehicle tracking, as well as providing driver training and fleet management systems.
Wincanton chief Eric Born said: “By combining Serco’s long standing expertise within the criminal justice system and Wincanton’s proven track record in specialist logistics, we expect this highly innovative service to deliver considerable savings for the UK taxpayer over the life of the contract.”