ISG subcontractors in MoJ projects unable to retrieve tools for over a week

The MoJ confirmed through further enquiries that access to tools was restricted across all sites where ISG was the main contractor for the same reasons.

The Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have arranged for contractors to collect their tools from Monday 30 September. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Eight companies of the ISG group, owned by US-based investment firm Cathexis, entered administration on 20 September. Around 2,200 staff were made redundant and all projects stopped with immediate effect.

A third of ISG’s pipeline consisted of public sector contracts. According to data from construction analyst Barbour ABI, ISG had 69 ongoing projects for central government worth £1.8bn. Among these were 22 schemes, including frameworks, that were part of the MoJ’s programme to improve prison capacity.

ISG was carrying out a major refurbishment of one of HMP Liverpool’s wings when it filed for administration.

The MoJ said contractors can contact [email protected] if they are having trouble retrieving the tools.