Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has accepted bids relating to the outsourcing of bail, no bail and breach arrest warrants from providers that offered to provide those services for free; and if he will make a statement.
The Ministry of Justice has recently conducted a procurement competition relating to the provision of HMCTS Approved Enforcement Agency services, including bail, no bail and arrest warrants. The conduct and outcome of that process is currently subject to legal proceedings. As a result, the Ministry of Justice has not yet entered into any new contract(s) for AEA services with bidders. Accordingly, pending the resolution of the legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment on the contents of any of the bids received as the final outcome of the procurement competition remains undetermined.