Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of G4S in fulfilling its contract to electronically tag offenders.

G4S provide electronic monitoring hardware (tags and home monitoring units) under contract to the Ministry of Justice having ceased delivery of field services and monitoring operations in early 2014 when the contract was transferred to Capita. On 13th November 2017 a new contract with G4S for the supply of next generation electronic monitoring hardware devices was signed. The competition was fully in line with rigorous procurement regulations to ensure best value for the taxpayer. G4S was subject to stringent requirements throughout the process – including quality thresholds and financial standing. The hardware itself met strict technical specifications and was subject to a comprehensive testing regime. Capita continue to provide the field services and monitoring operations. Electronic monitoring is an important tool to improve supervision in the community and support offenders to change their lives. The contracts are subject to stringent specifications and the equipment has been rigorously tested to exacting performance standards. The Department has robust processes in place to monitor and manage contractors and will not hesitate to take action if standards fall short of those expected.