Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 10
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 ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
HMPPS intended Gemini to replace the current case management system (‘Integrity’) which had been in use since 2012 and must now be relied on until 2024. The NAO found that many of its applications were no longer supported by manufacturers and had severe risks, including outdated and vulnerable hardware and software.17 We asked HMPPS how it knew whether the system could cope with an additional 10,000 tagged offenders without failing. It explained that although it opted not to test the system through simulated increases, it had commissioned external reviews which provided it with confidence that the system can cope. HMPPS’ ongoing reliance on Integrity will cost a further £9.8 million, comprising £5 million for urgent remedial work and £4.8 million in licensing costs. HMPPS was not aware of the level of obsolescence in Integrity, because Capita held the contract for the system, but HMPPS has now taken on the Integrity contract directly with G4S. HMPPS told us that its new approach provided better visibility of the system and gave it the ability to make changes. It explained that by running the contract directly it expected to reduce Integrity’s contract costs by around £6 million before it retires the system.18
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- On outdated technology, remediation work has moved from December 2022 to March 2023, and system improvements "by the end of January 2023" are intended to let the GPS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.