Prisoner transfer company GEOAmey has a £238million contract and has already been fined about £4million over performance issues.
GeoAmey delivered prisoners to court late over 10,000 times in 10 months(Image: JOHN BRACEGIRDLE / Alamy Stock Photo)
Prisoner transfer company GEOAmey delivered inmates late to court 10,474 times in just 10 months, new figures show. The firm has a £238million contract and has already been fined about £4million over performance issues.
Late arrivals at court can lead to delays in criminal hearings, while vulnerable witnesses in trials are left to wait hours. The latest available figures from the SPS, obtained by the Sunday Mail, are for the period between January and October last year.
It comes even though GEOAmey raked in revenue of £119.5million in 2024 with a pre-tax profit of £4.3million – up from £108.2million in revenue in 2023 with a pre-tax profit of £4.9million.
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said: “The scale of failure in the delivery of the contract is staggering. When prisoner transfers do not run smoothly, court time is wasted and justice delayed.
“Justice Secretary [Angela Constance] has a responsibility to ensure the justice system is safe, effective and well resourced. She must ensure GEOAmey shape up or ship out.”
We told in January 2024 how the company had handed more than £2million to shareholders and bosses while demanding more money from Scottish taxpayers to prop up its service.
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP called on the Justice Secretary to hold GeoAmey to account.(Image: Fraser Bremner/Scottish Daily Mail/PA Wire)
A total of £1.8million of taxpayers’ cash has been given to the firm in 2024, with a £2.2million top-up due in 2025.
An Audit Scotland report in 2023 revealed the Scottish Prison Service had taken action to support improvement in GEOAmey’s performance but these have had “limited impact”.
In October 2023, GEOAmey’s staffing levels had dropped to 520 full-time equivalents, down 20 to 25 per cent on required levels to deliver the service. GEOAmey was the sole bidder for its eight-year £238million deal awarded in 2018 after Serco and G4S pulled out.
GEOAmey said: “The contract was recalibrated by the Scottish Government in 2023 to recognise unforeseen economic impacts and significant changes to the employment landscape.
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“Since then, record numbers of officers have been recruited to service the contract and leavers have also reached an all-time low.”
It added: “The contract in Scotland anticipates that some people will arrive late to court due to a number of factors. The team in Scotland recently recorded their 21st successive month where performance has exceeded the contractual target for court arrivals.”
The Scottish Prison Service said: “Following the recalibration of our contract with GEOAmey, we have seen improved staffing levels, with reduced attrition, and continuous improvement in performance, including for journeys to court and hospitals.”
The Scottish Government said: “We have provided additional funding to support the SPS and other partners in delivering an improvement in the GEOAmey contract.”