Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 30 October 2024 (HL1966), how many subcontractors to ISG Limited the Ministry of Justice has been in contact with; what assistance the department has provided or may be able to provide to subcontractors whose payments were not available in the relevant project bank account; and what has been the outcome of the department's work with EY to establish whether the sums remaining in project bank accounts were correct.

The Ministry of Justice has been in contact with c.350 subcontractors of ISG Construction Limited. The Department has used a dedicated mailbox for this purpose and issued an update letter to subcontractors on 6 March 2025.

Since ISG entered administration, the Department has worked to minimise the impact on subcontractors. We enabled the swift return of subcontractor’s tools and equipment from affected sites and are supporting subcontractors to retrieve any materials that were on site with the cooperation of the Administrator.

The Ministry of Justice did not have a direct contractual relationship with ISG’s subcontractors and the Department’s assessment to date is that there is no obligation to act as the guarantor of all of ISG’s payments to its subcontractors. Payment by the Ministry of Justice into the project bank account does not create a direct contractual relationship between the Department and subcontractors.

Due to ongoing legal and commercial sensitivities, we are unable to comment on the final part of the question regarding the outcome of our engagement with EY.