New Barlinnie prison costs double to almost £1bn

The replacement for Barlinnie prison will cost nearly £1bn, almost double the previous estimate.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirmed a cost of £998.4m for HMP Glasgow in a letter to the criminal justice committee. She also stated it will open in 2028, three years later than originally planned,

The 1,344 capacity prison in the Germiston area will add 357 places to the overall prison estate, in an attempt to solve problems with overcrowding plaguing Scotland’s jails.

Constance said the “significant increase” in costs – from a previous estimate in 2022 of £400m – was due to wider increases across the construction sector.

The new cost is nearly 10 times the original estimate of £100m, which was proposed in 2014.

Constance blamed the rise on outside factors such as the covid pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

The justice secretary said: “HMP Glasgow is a bold vision for the future of Scottish prisons that will help reduce reoffending, contribute to less crime, while delivering a considerable economic boost for the city and beyond.

“The new modern establishment will replace a Victorian-age prison that is no longer fit for purpose. It will increase prison capacity and transform how prisoners are rehabilitated, as well as considerably improving staff working conditions.”

Constance told BBC Scotland News it was “critical that we have a a prison system that continues to function effectively” and that the cost increase was justified.

She said: “It’s important to remember that the earlier estimates were prior to the final design and original plans were based on a much smaller prison as well and that’s before we get to the impact on the construction sector of Covid and Brexit.”

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has now signed a Stage 2 construction contract with Kier Construction, costing £683.8m and letting work move from advance works to main construction of the project.

A planning application for the new facility was submitted to the city council several years ago, due to concern over Barlinnie no longer being fit for purpose, with land at the old Provan gas works site in the East End then being purchased in 2020.

The £400m cost was estimated in 2019 and then repeated in an infrastructure investment plan published in 2022, before Constance told the criminal justice committee the following year that costs were expected to rise.

Teresa Medhurst, the chief executive of the SPS, said the new prison would have a “transformative impact” in supporting and rehabilitating people.

She added: “It is an investment in our staff, in those in our care, and in Glasgow and Scotland as a whole, as we work with our partners to improve people’s futures and together build safer communities.”

Construction was originally due to begin in 2023.

Liam Kerr, the Scottish Conservatives justice spokesman, said the new prison was “squandering taxpayers’ money on a scandalous scale”.

He added: “It is scarcely believable that the costs to replace Barlinnie are now set to hit nearly a billion pounds and that the new prison won’t be open for another three years.

“That is a total dereliction of duty at a time when the SNP are about to release hundreds of dangerous prisoners due to their failure to invest in Scotland’s prison estate over 18 years in power.”

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said the increase was “eye-watering” and that costs were “out of control.”

In 2023 Barlinnie governor Michael Stoney warned the prison had become so overcrowded that a “catastrophic failure” was possible.

He previously estimated a new prison could cut reoffending by around 20%.

He told BBC Scotland News: “The new prison is designed to be full of activity, full of engagement. All staff will be freed up to deliver directly and build positive relationships that will impact people’s rehabilitation.”

According to the letter sent to the criminal justice committee, HMP Glasgow will provide a “full regime” for prisoners to help rehabilitate them.

It added a range of “activities and opportunities” will maximise prisoners’ time, while there will be the ability to accommodate more wheelchair users in a bid to keep up with an ageing prison population.

Developer Kier Construction said construction of the prison would provide local benefits including 50 apprenticeships, training, and work placements for ex-offenders, with the Scottish government estimating the project could create up to £450m of spending in the local economy.

The SPS carried out two cost consultancies, which it says found the £998m cost was “typical for the industry.”