Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the cost-effectiveness of (a) alcohol monitoring tags and (b) custodial sentences for alcohol-related offences.

The Department does not directly compare the cost-effectiveness of alcohol monitoring tags and alcohol-related custodial sentences.

Alcohol monitoring is used a tool to assist with the safe management of individuals in the community, where alcohol has been shown to be a factor in their offence or offending behaviour, and in support of other requirements added to a court order or post-custody licence. There will and should be instances where an individual is required to serve a custodial sentence given the offence they have committed and for public protection. The compliance rate of alcohol monitoring imposed by the court as part of a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order, which imposes a total ban on drinking alcohol for up to 120 days, showed from the introduction of the technology in October 2020 through to 6 June 2025, the devices did not register a tamper or alcohol alert for 97.3% of the days worn.

The number of individuals subject to alcohol monitoring between October 2020 and June 2024 is available in Table 4.1 of the data tables published in the following link: Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, June 2024 - GOV.UK. The most recent provisional figures for alcohol monitoring, covering November 2025, can be found in the following link: Ad-Hoc Alcohol Monitoring Statistics Publication, Dec 2025 - GOV.UK

Please note that caseload statistics published after July 2025 are not directly comparable with earlier data due to changes in the definition and methodology used to classify individuals as “tagged”.