Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has (a) issued Serco with a formal (i) remediation and (ii) performance improvement notice and (b) considered exercising any contractual (A) step-in and (B) termination rights in relation to the electronic monitoring contract; and what options exist to exit the contract before 2030.

The Department has used a range of contractual levers in response to previous performance concerns and issues, including formal Rectification Plan and Service Improvement Plan notices. These form part of the contractual mechanisms available to the Department to hold Serco to account.

The Department continues to assess the contractual options available to it, including step-in and termination, as part of its contingency planning. These rights can only be exercised where the relevant contractual conditions and thresholds are satisfied. The conditions necessary to exercise these rights have not currently arisen. The Department continues to monitor performance and keeps the appropriate contractual response under review.