Errors upgrading tagging criminals wastes £98million of public money

2022-10-21

Errors in upgrading tagging of criminals wastes £98million of public money, MPs say

Failure of new IT system means tagging schemes rely on outdated software
At least £98million was wasted in upgrading the electronic tagging of criminals
Dame Meg Hillier said such ‘concerning’ failures were putting the public at risk

Avoidable mistakes in upgrading the electronic tagging of criminals have wasted £98million of public money, MPs said yesterday.

The failure of the new IT system means tagging schemes now rely on outdated and costly software.

The Commons public accounts committee said the loss of at least £98million on the Gemini project was ‘deeply concerning’ and made members concerned over a further £1.2billion investment in tagging planned by the Ministry of Justice.

Committee chairman Dame Meg Hillier said such failures were putting the public at risk.

Dame Meg said: ‘That’s another £100million of taxpayers’ money for essential public services just thrown away, wasted, lost.

‘The existing system is at constant risk of failure – and let us be clear that in the case of tagging, “failure” can mean direct and preventable risk to the public – and attempts to transform it have failed.’

(Stock Image) At least £98million was wasted in upgrading the electronic tagging of criminals

Dame Meg Hillier said: ‘We expect a serious explanation, and a serious plan… on how [the government] are going to stop this haemorrhaging of taxpayers’ money’

She added: ‘We expect a serious explanation, and a serious plan, from the MoJ and Government more widely how they are going to stop this haemorrhaging of taxpayers’ money that they are presiding over.

‘We need assurances up front over the further £1.2billion they have already committed to the tagging programme – what will be achieved, by when, and, crucially, what will be recovered for the public if goals aren’t met.’

Gemini was intended to streamline the tagging programme, and to give police and probation officers easy access to a range of information about offenders.

It was already 18 months late when it was canned at the end of last year after what the NAO described as ‘recurring setbacks’.

Officials are currently unable to fully track whether offenders ordered to wear a tag as part of their punishment go on to commit further crimes, the NAO said.

In today’s report, MPs said mistakes had ‘cost taxpayers dear’.

Errors included a ‘high-risk and over-complicated delivery model, poor oversight of suppliers, overambitious timetable and light-touch scrutiny from the Ministry of Justice’.

The committee said it was ‘unconvinced’ that the MoJ is equipped to handle emerging problems.

The MPs vowed to continue to monitor the ‘serious risks’ linked to the planned expansion of tagging schemes.

In particular, they said the committee would keep a close eye on the Government’s negotiation of new contracts with private sector suppliers, due by early 2024.

It came as new MoJ data showed the number of people on an electronic tag has reached a record 15,000, a 12 per cent rise year-on-year in England and Wales.

The number of satellite tags – which use GPS technology to track the wearer’s location – rose 143 per cent to 5,243 at the end of September.

And there was a 153 per cent increase in the number of alcohol-monitoring tags – to just over 1,500. They trigger a remote alarm if the wearer drinks alcohol in breach of bail conditions.

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