Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on devolving responsibility for tagging contracts to police and crime commissioners.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
On 15 July the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice announced that the Ministry of Justice will be awarding contracts to four companies for delivery of the next generation of electronic monitoring services.
These national contracts will be managed by the Ministry of Justice. Within the existing legislative framework, there are opportunities for Police and Crime Commissioners to make use of the capability within national contracts to support their local priorities in order to ensure that the taxpayers money is used efficiently. Police and Crime Commissioners may however make local arrangements depending on local priorities.
Separate to these national contracts, the Secretary of State has agreed to allow the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to enter into arrangements to pilot the effectiveness of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the new electronic tagging system was not subject to a pilot before the decision to implement it was taken.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The contracts have not yet been awarded. An announcement was made on 15th July.
Yes we comply with the OJEU / EU procurement rules as well as cabinet office processes.
The new electronic monitoring service has not been subject to a pilot as in the first instance we need to ensure continuity of service. However, there will be a significant period of testing and validation for the new system before introduction. There is also a robust programme of testing for the new tags themselves, and we will have to be satisfied that they meet our standards before they are introduced on the new platform.
Electronic monitoring using GPS was piloted in three probation areas in 2004 to 2005 and the evaluation found qualitative evidence to show that it:
o acted as a deterrent because offenders thought they would be caught if they were to reoffend;
o was a constant reminder which prompted offenders to ‘think twice' when a criminal opportunity presented itself and gave them the spur they needed to walk away;
o provided offenders with renewed determination to get their lives back together after a period of incarceration; and
o was perceived by offenders to help stop wrongful identification for crimes they hadn't done.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the purpose is of the new electronic tagging system; and what evidence his Department analysed or collected on the potential effect of that system on crime and reconviction rates.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The contracts have not yet been awarded. An announcement was made on 15th July.
Yes we comply with the OJEU / EU procurement rules as well as cabinet office processes.
The new electronic monitoring service has not been subject to a pilot as in the first instance we need to ensure continuity of service. However, there will be a significant period of testing and validation for the new system before introduction. There is also a robust programme of testing for the new tags themselves, and we will have to be satisfied that they meet our standards before they are introduced on the new platform.
Electronic monitoring using GPS was piloted in three probation areas in 2004 to 2005 and the evaluation found qualitative evidence to show that it:
o acted as a deterrent because offenders thought they would be caught if they were to reoffend;
o was a constant reminder which prompted offenders to ‘think twice' when a criminal opportunity presented itself and gave them the spur they needed to walk away;
o provided offenders with renewed determination to get their lives back together after a period of incarceration; and
o was perceived by offenders to help stop wrongful identification for crimes they hadn't done.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the procurement process for the electronic tagging contract complied with Cabinet Office procedures on openness and transparency.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The contracts have not yet been awarded. An announcement was made on 15th July.
Yes we comply with the OJEU / EU procurement rules as well as cabinet office processes.
The new electronic monitoring service has not been subject to a pilot as in the first instance we need to ensure continuity of service. However, there will be a significant period of testing and validation for the new system before introduction. There is also a robust programme of testing for the new tags themselves, and we will have to be satisfied that they meet our standards before they are introduced on the new platform.
Electronic monitoring using GPS was piloted in three probation areas in 2004 to 2005 and the evaluation found qualitative evidence to show that it:
o acted as a deterrent because offenders thought they would be caught if they were to reoffend;
o was a constant reminder which prompted offenders to ‘think twice' when a criminal opportunity presented itself and gave them the spur they needed to walk away;
o provided offenders with renewed determination to get their lives back together after a period of incarceration; and
o was perceived by offenders to help stop wrongful identification for crimes they hadn't done.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value of the new electronic tagging contract is for each of the next nine financial years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The contracts have not yet been awarded. An announcement was made on 15th July.
Yes we comply with the OJEU / EU procurement rules as well as cabinet office processes.
The new electronic monitoring service has not been subject to a pilot as in the first instance we need to ensure continuity of service. However, there will be a significant period of testing and validation for the new system before introduction. There is also a robust programme of testing for the new tags themselves, and we will have to be satisfied that they meet our standards before they are introduced on the new platform.
Electronic monitoring using GPS was piloted in three probation areas in 2004 to 2005 and the evaluation found qualitative evidence to show that it:
o acted as a deterrent because offenders thought they would be caught if they were to reoffend;
o was a constant reminder which prompted offenders to ‘think twice' when a criminal opportunity presented itself and gave them the spur they needed to walk away;
o provided offenders with renewed determination to get their lives back together after a period of incarceration; and
o was perceived by offenders to help stop wrongful identification for crimes they hadn't done.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which companies have been awarded contracts for electronic tagging in respect of the next nine years; how much each such company will be paid; what services each such company will provide; and for how long each such company will provide services.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The contracts have not yet been awarded. An announcement was made on 15th July.
Yes we comply with the OJEU / EU procurement rules as well as cabinet office processes.
The new electronic monitoring service has not been subject to a pilot as in the first instance we need to ensure continuity of service. However, there will be a significant period of testing and validation for the new system before introduction. There is also a robust programme of testing for the new tags themselves, and we will have to be satisfied that they meet our standards before they are introduced on the new platform.
Electronic monitoring using GPS was piloted in three probation areas in 2004 to 2005 and the evaluation found qualitative evidence to show that it:
o acted as a deterrent because offenders thought they would be caught if they were to reoffend;
o was a constant reminder which prompted offenders to ‘think twice' when a criminal opportunity presented itself and gave them the spur they needed to walk away;
o provided offenders with renewed determination to get their lives back together after a period of incarceration; and
o was perceived by offenders to help stop wrongful identification for crimes they hadn't done.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to introduce GPS technology for the electronic monitoring of offenders.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The new contracts will introduce state-of-the-art satellite tagging that will allow us to keep a closer watch over offenders in the community. We are working to take this forward as quickly as possible, with a view to beginning roll out by the end of the year.