Probation Service (Hansard, 22 July 2002)

§ John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the financial position of Bull/Integris was taken into account before the standard technical environment for the Probation Service contract was let on 1 January. [65420]

§ Hilary Benn
The National Probation Directorate commissioned the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to assess the financial position of Groupe Bull and its subsidiary Bull Information Systems (including the business division Integris) prior to the shortlisting of service providers for the STEPS contracts.
After shortlisting and prior to award of the STEPS contracts, the National Probation Directorate commissioned a firm of forensic accountants to evaluate the financial risks regarding the sale of Integris by Bull Information Systems to Steria.
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On-going financial checks will be carried out on Integris (now renamed as Steria following the change of ownership) throughout the life of the STEPS contracts.

§ John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many computer terminals are operational within the National Probation Service in England and Wales. [65422]

§ Hilary Benn
There are currently 17,357 terminals in use in the National Probation Service.

§ John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maintenance charges are for the probation STEPS contract during normal working hours; what the charge is(a) between 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm for an office and an area, (b) for a Saturday and a Sunday event, (c) in relation to an office relocation and (d) for the installation of a computer or printer; and whether the contract with Integris for these matters represents value for money. [65421]

§ Hilary Benn
It is normal in contracts such as these for the information requested to be covered by commercial confidentiality clauses. However, recent press reports on this subject have been so inaccurate and misleading that both the supplier and the National Probation Directorate felt it appropriate to correct some specific points.
The Standard Technical Environment for the Probation Service (STEPS) contract provides the foundation for the development of IT in the Probation Service. Earlier this year it became one of the first contracts to pass through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway process, set up to scrutinise Government contracts for value and purpose.
The core support hours for the contract are Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm. The 'maintenance charges' to extend these hours to provide full service cover for a whole office between 6.00 and 10.00 pm on a weeknight would be £2,661. On a Saturday the cost to support the entire network of 15,000 desktops across England and Wales would be £8,704. On a Sunday, the same cost would be £11,600. To deliver this service the supplier has to provide people on call around the country, responding to incidents and resolving problems. These costs would only be paid should this work be needed. To date, in the lifetime of this contract, it has not been. The cost to move a workstation would be £192. The contract represents good value for money.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the target for the proportion of cases under Probation Service supervision where the service responds to a breach of conditions by taking action in accordance with the national standards has not been met. [68785]

§ Hilary Benn
[holding answer 11 July 2002]: Probation Service national standards provide clear guidelines on what the Probation Service is expected to deliver in respect of enforcement of breach action. Performance is closely monitored and there is clear evidence of an improvement increases of breach action from 51 per cent. of cases in 1998 to 70 per cent. in September 2000 (the last date for validated returns). This is against a target of 90 per cent. This improvement has been achieved at the same time as the standard against which performance was measured was significantly toughened during the period.
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The enforcement target is one of a package of targets for which there is a direct cash-related link to performance. That link supports the work which is being undertaken by the Probation Service to improve performance in this area through the review of enforcement procedures.