Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
HMPPS signed Dartmoor lease without full radon data due to prison capacity crisis.
Conclusion
HMPPS acknowledged that it would have been helpful to have more information on the density of radon at the Dartmoor site prior to the lease negotiations.11 However, it bizarrely maintained that signing the lease without undertaking a recent survey was sensible, given the prison capacity crisis at the time. It argued that in the context of needing to spend over £600 per cell per night to temporarily hold prisoners in police cells under Operation Safeguard, £1.5 million a year for 640 prison places felt like good value for money.12 MoJ also stated that it put mitigation measures in 5 HC Committee of Public Accounts, Value for money from legal aid, Thirty-Third Report of Session 2023-24, HC 481, 24 May 2024. 6 HMT, Treasury Minutes, 5 September 2024 7 HMG, “Legal Aid Agency data breach”, accessed on 22 November 2025 8 Committee of Public Accounts, Improving family court services for children, oral evidence, HC 883, 23 June 2025 9 Letter from the Ministry of Justice concerning HMP Dartmoor, 21 October 2025 10 Letter from Ministry of Justice concerning HMP Dartmoor, 2 October 2025 11 Qq 7, 11 12 Q 15 8 place following the results of the June 2022 survey but that it was a later cell-by-cell survey which led, following discussions with the Health and Safety Executive, to the decision to close the prison in 2024.13
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges it would have been beneficial to have a comprehensive understanding of radon presence before making a decision on the lease. HMPPS has improved radon policies, procedures, and training and are embedding learning from Dartmoor into future decision-making.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
1.3 It is accepted that it would have been beneficial for commercial decision makers to have had a comprehensive understanding of the presence of radon at the site and the scale of mitigations required to manage it, prior to entering into negotiations and making a decision on the lease. 1.4 HMPPS has significantly improved and implemented updated radon policies and procedures, and training for employees, to ensure the effective management of radon. This has increased clarity on roles and responsibilities, improved communication and engagement across the business and improved mechanisms for the reporting and sharing of information. 1.5 HMPPS are also embedding learning from Dartmoor into future decision-making, to ensure that any future contracts deliver value for money. Generally, estates projects are delivered as part of the MoJ’s capital maintenance programme. A number of factors are considered to ensure value for money and determine the optimal delivery route, including but not limited to urgency, cost, complexity and nature of the requirement.