Recommendation 9

Given their knowledge that radon had previously been detected at the site, we asked MoJ and HMPPS why they had not negotiated an earlier exit term, or provisions to change the terms if radon levels were to increase so that the prison became partially or wholly unusable. MoJ stated that HMPPS had negotiated a shorter break clause compared with the previous lease and that the rent is only marginally more than it was previously. It argued that these terms seemed reasonable and good value for money at the time, but acknowledged that with hindsight it may have acted differently.18 Plans for bringing the site back into use