GEOAmey to lose Scottish prisoner transport contract after series of failings

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed on Tuesday that Mitie has been awarded the new contract, just weeks after Aaron Strachan, 21, slipped his guards at Edinburgh High Court while awaiting sentence for the rape of a 15-year-old girl he had abducted. He was found near the court shortly afterwards.

The decision follows longstanding concerns about GEOAmey’s performance. In 2024, its managing director, David Jones, apologised for repeated failures in prisoner transportation, including inmates missing hospital appointments and funerals. The former chief inspector of prisons later accused the company of breaching prisoners’ human rights.

Mitie’s contract will run from January 27 next year until April 2035 and is valued at £415 million. GEOAmey did not bid for the new deal.

Scottish Prison Service chief executive Teresa Medhurst said: “I am confident that this contract will do that by building on the recommendations made by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland and the Public Audit Committee, and having listened to the voices of those with lived experience of the service, and learning the lessons of past experience.”

Under the new arrangements, Mitie will operate a fleet of 133 vehicles to transport prisoners to and from courts, medical appointments and other destinations. The vans will be fitted with real-time tracking, live-stream CCTV and duress alarms, while staff will wear body-worn cameras. The vehicles will also feature “sensory internal lighting” intended to help reduce stress for those being transported.

Justice secretary Angela Constance said: “Court custody services and prisoner escorting are integral to the effective operation of the whole criminal justice system, and I am grateful to the hundreds of frontline prisoner custody officers who play their part in that every day.

“Today’s announcement marks the conclusion of a robust and competitive procurement exercise which delivers a new and improved contract offering better value for money for the taxpayer, and a new supplier of these services in Scotland from January 2027.

“I am grateful to the Scottish Prison Service for their rigour and diligence in this process, and I am confident that with the committed support of all criminal justice partners, this new contract will deliver substantive improvements in this crucial service.

“This contract ensures we continue to deliver essential services while securing the best possible outcome for the public purse.”

A spokesman for GEOAmey said: “GEOAmey made the very difficult decision not to participate in the Justice Partners Escorting and Court Custody Service procurement process, we therefore did not submit a bid to continue providing this service into the Scottish market.

“Having completed a full assessment of the newly proposed contract, we felt that the risk/reward profile fell below that deemed necessary to make this highly complex and demanding contract an attractive proposal.

“We will work diligently to ensure that we continue to deliver a high standard of service to our customers in Scotland for the remainder of the contract term, and work closely with the justice partners and the new provider to assist with a seamless transfer of responsibilities.

“Our hard-working employees are at the heart of our business, and we will ensure through Tupe regulations that their employment remains protected at the point of transfer, with their rights and service intact.”