Astonishment as fines handed straight back to catastrophic prison transport firm

Nearly half the money that GEOAmey paid to the Scottish Government in fines over its failure to transport prisoners, was handed straight back as ‘support’ to the company in a renegotiated contract, the Scottish Lib Dems can reveal.  

GEOAmey were hit with £4m worth of fines after repeated failures in the delivery of prisoner transport, delaying justice across Scotland and bringing all jury trials to a halt in the islands. The Auditor General’s annual audit of the Scottish Prison Service noted that “In recent years, GEOAmey has been unable to achieve the staffing levels required to effectively deliver the contract.”  

Despite these failings, the firm paid out £1.3million in dividends to its shareholders last year, while five members of senior management earned a total income of £854,000.

Now Scottish Liberal Democrats can reveal that in October 2023, revised payment rates were agreed aimed at supporting GEOAmey in the retention and recruitment of its staff, with the additional cost of supporting the contract set at £1.8m in 2023/24 and £2.2m per annum thereafter. In effect, the full £4m of fines will be handed back to the firm within two years.

Justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:  

“GEOAmey have been a catastrophe for justice in the islands with trials suspended for months. Court time has been wasted and victims, defendants and court staff have been put through the mill.  

“Now it emerges that even the fines issued by the Scottish Government for poor performance will ultimately end up back in the pockets of bosses and shareholders.

“It’s no wonder that the firm has repeatedly failed to shape up. It knows that all it will get is an ineffectual slap on the wrist from the Scottish Government.

“The Justice Secretary must put a halt to this.  She has a responsibility to ensure Scotland's justice system is safe, effective and well resourced. That should include kicking GEOAmey to the curb unless they start to deliver."