Contracted services

Some services have never been provided directly by the Department and have always been procured. In addition, the Department has renewed and renegotiated a number of contracts for areas of work that were outsourced prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice. At any one time there are over one hundred procurement projects underway. Some examples of major procurement projects undertaken by the department include but are not limited the following:

• electronic monitoring;
• maintaining the community accommodation service, Tier 2 (CAS-2) previously known as bail accommodation support services (BASS); and
• prison escorting and custodial services (PECS).

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Contracted services overview

Electronic monitoring

At March 2023 (source).

Some electronic monitoring subjects are dual tagged. These subjects have been included in the figures for their Electronic Monitoring order but removed from the total electronic monitoring caseload.

CAS-2 (including BASS) referrals by type

At March 2023 (source).

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Electronic monitoring caseload

Electronic monitoring was introduced in 1999 to support the police, courts, prisons and wider justice system in England and Wales.

It is a way of remotely monitoring and recording information on an individual’s whereabouts or movements, using an electronic tag which is normally fitted to a subject’s ankle. The tag transmits this information, via a base unit installed in a subject’s residence, to a monitoring centre where it is processed and recorded in case management systems. Staff in the monitoring centre review this information to see whether an individual is complying with the conditions of their curfew or other electronically monitored requirement. Where a subject is not complying, the electronic monitoring provider either acts on this information themselves or provides it to the relevant authority to take the necessary enforcement action.

The figures for 31 March 2019 onwards include details of those on location monitoring tags, which were introduced in November 2018.

The figures also include those fitted with an alcohol monitoring tag. Alcohol monitoring was introduced to courts in Wales in October 2020 and expanded to courts in England on 31 March 2021 to support the new community sentencing option, the Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR). For offenders being released from custody whose offending and risk is alcohol related, an Alcohol Monitoring on Licence (AML) additional licence condition was introduced in Wales in November 2021 and rolled out in England in June 2022.

Electronic monitoring caseload

17,350

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Bail

6,284

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Court sentence

3,369

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Post release

4,102

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Immigration

3,522

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Specials

73

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Alcohol monitoring

2,248

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Explore data in electronic monitoring caseload.

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Electronic monitoring performance

Electronic Monitoring service performance of service level measures - national performance.

Full definitions of SL metrics can be found in the accompanying technical note.

Equipment installation and subject induction - first attempt within specified timescales (EMS SL004A)

87%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Equipment installation and subject induction - further attempt(s) within specified timescales (EMS SL004B)

60%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Equipment re-installation - attempt within specified timescales (EMS SL004C)

87%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Equipment removal - attempt within specified timescales (EMS SL005A)

94%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Equipment removal (bail cases) - attempt within specified timescales (EMS SL005B)

94%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Equipment check following tamper violation - attempt within specified timescales (EMS SL005C)

85%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Request for information required to commence orders - within specified timescales (EMS SL007B)

58%

Value for Feb 2023. View time series

Call to curfew location following possible violation - within specified timescales (EMS SL008)

97%

Value for Mar 2023. View time series

Explore data in electronic monitoring performance.

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The Community Accommodation Service

The Community Accommodation Service, Tier 2 (CAS-2), previously known as Bail, Accommodation and Support Service (BASS), is a contracted service which provides short-term accommodation for those who have no suitable accommodation and may otherwise be held in custody. The service is available for those on Bail, Home Detention Curfew, released from a custodial sentence of less than four years and of no fixed abode, on licence and at risk of recall due to loss of accommodation or on an Intensive Community Order with a residential requirement.

The new CAS-2 service continues most of the features of BASS but is significantly enhanced through additional features.

The BASS contract was provided by Stonham until June 2018 and then NACRO from June 2018 onwards. BASS and CAS-2 both operated in the 2022-23 financial year. The change over of service (from BASS to CAS-2) took place on the 1st October 2022.

All referrals

3,168

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Additional licence conditions

96

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Bail

857

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Home detention curfew

2,156

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Intensive alternative to custody

0

Value for 2021-22. View time series

Alternative to custodial recall

51

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Homeless at conditional release

8

Value for 2022-23. View time series

Explore data in the community accommodation service.