Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
Twenty-First Report: Transforming electronic monitoring services
Published 21 Oct 2022
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Electronic Monitoring programme All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
It is unacceptable that HMPPS still does not know if or how tagging reduces reoffending, and it has been too slow to improve data. Despite our previous recommendations, HMPPS still does not know the impact of tagging. The Ministry recognises that evaluation of the transformation programme was not as strong as it should have been. HMPPS has now strengthened its analytical capacity, and has committed to evaluating its expansion programme, although it will need to rely on higher numbers of tagged offenders to better understand differences in outcomes between tagged offenders and control groups if it is to build a rich evidence base. It recognises the importance of establishing links to reoffending, but accepts it has previously missed opportunities to develop this understanding. There is variable use of tagging between courts. Going forward, better evidence on what works in tagging will help improve magistrates’ and judges’ understanding of the sentencing options available. Linked to this, HMPPS has not improved persistent issues with data availability and quality, such as the lack of data on offenders’ protected characteristics. It does not know whether ethnic minority offenders are over- or under-represented in tagging services but has committed to collect better data in future contracts. Recommendation: Within one year, HMPPS should publish a comprehensive plan outlining what it has achieved so far and remaining work required in: • improving data collection and analysis in tagging services; • monitoring the delivery of benefits in its expansion programme; and • building the evidence base for the impact of tagging on reoffending and offenders’ diversion from prison.
From: Public Accounts Committee, Twenty-First Report: Transforming electronic monitoring services (HC 34), 21 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 December 2022 (deadline 21 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with each of the Committee's six recommendations on the Ministry of Justice's electronic monitoring services, and gives target implementation dates for five of them.
- On real-time police access to GPS data, the government agrees with the recommendation, but says police have advised that live access is not a current priority; it will "consider whether and how changes to the service can be made" should the police's view change.
- On outdated technology, remediation work has moved from December 2022 to March 2023, and system improvements "by the end of January 2023" are intended to let the GPS system cope with rising volumes.
- On evidence of impact, a benefits management strategy and realisation plan will be in place "By April 2023", and a formal evaluation strategy for electronic monitoring is being developed. The target implementation date is August 2023.
- On oversight of the expansion programme, the agency commits to write to the Committee in August 2023, once new contracts have been awarded.