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| 'Disastrous' offender tagging scheme hit by fresh delays | 'Disastrous' offender tagging scheme hit by fresh delays |
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| Fresh delays have hit the government’s scandal-hit programme for the electronic tagging of offenders, which mean the next-generation satellite tracking tags will not come into use until early 2019, MPs have been told. | Fresh delays have hit the government’s scandal-hit programme for the electronic tagging of offenders, which mean the next-generation satellite tracking tags will not come into use until early 2019, MPs have been told. |
| MPs on the Commons public accounts committee told senior Ministry of Justice officials on Monday that the programme to develop a world-leading, GPS tracking tag that was launched in 2011 had been nothing short of disastrous. | MPs on the Commons public accounts committee told senior Ministry of Justice officials on Monday that the programme to develop a world-leading, GPS tracking tag that was launched in 2011 had been nothing short of disastrous. |
| The scheme was intended to save up to £30m but instead has so far cost the Ministry of Justice £60m on top of its original £130m budget. Already running five years late, it was further delayed because the snap general election postponed the letting of part of the contract. | The scheme was intended to save up to £30m but instead has so far cost the Ministry of Justice £60m on top of its original £130m budget. Already running five years late, it was further delayed because the snap general election postponed the letting of part of the contract. |
| Senior MoJ officials admitted that major mistakes had been made in the programme, including a failure to pilot the new development, but denied it was a disaster saying they hoped about 1,000 offenders a year could be tracked when it is eventually implemented in early 2019. The private security company G4S has now been appointed to complete the project. | |
| The current MoJ permanent secretary, Richard Heaton, told MPs that he had been “startled and stunned” by the over-ambition of the original programme, which had envisaged that 65,000 offenders would be electronically tagged in the community as part of their sentence. | The current MoJ permanent secretary, Richard Heaton, told MPs that he had been “startled and stunned” by the over-ambition of the original programme, which had envisaged that 65,000 offenders would be electronically tagged in the community as part of their sentence. |
| “We got it wrong but to characterise the whole thing as a disaster is wrong,” said Heaton. “It is in mid-flight and we are determined that it is going to succeed,” he said adding that only £5m of the extra £60m spent could be classified as “fruitless expenditure”. | “We got it wrong but to characterise the whole thing as a disaster is wrong,” said Heaton. “It is in mid-flight and we are determined that it is going to succeed,” he said adding that only £5m of the extra £60m spent could be classified as “fruitless expenditure”. |
| There are currently only 12,000 offenders on first-generation radio frequency tags, which do not have tracking ability and can only monitor whether someone is at a particular address or not. They are mostly used to monitor prisoners released early on home detention curfews, those on bail or out of prison on temporary licence. | There are currently only 12,000 offenders on first-generation radio frequency tags, which do not have tracking ability and can only monitor whether someone is at a particular address or not. They are mostly used to monitor prisoners released early on home detention curfews, those on bail or out of prison on temporary licence. |
| A programme to introduce satellite tracking tags for offenders in England and Wales was first promised by David Blunkett when he was Labour home secretary in 2004. His promise to provide a “prison without bars” for the 5,000 most prolific offenders has been repeated by practically every prime minister since then. | A programme to introduce satellite tracking tags for offenders in England and Wales was first promised by David Blunkett when he was Labour home secretary in 2004. His promise to provide a “prison without bars” for the 5,000 most prolific offenders has been repeated by practically every prime minister since then. |
| Confidence in the government’s tagging programme as an alternative to prison had already been rocked by an overcharging scandal which triggered a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the basic tagging contract run by G4S and Serco. The two companies repaid £179m but the SFO inquiry continues. | Confidence in the government’s tagging programme as an alternative to prison had already been rocked by an overcharging scandal which triggered a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the basic tagging contract run by G4S and Serco. The two companies repaid £179m but the SFO inquiry continues. |