§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list those companies who have tendered to monitor the pilot electronic surveillance system to be introduced for persons remanded on bail this summer: and if he will make a statement;
(2) what is the estimated cost per week of supervising a person remanded on bail but subject to electronic surveillance; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 23 February 1989]: Tenders have not yet been received, and are not expected until April. It will not be possible before then to estimate the weekly costs involved.
§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to expand the use of electronic surveillance to sentenced prisoners, or as a condition of a probation or community service order; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Patten[holding answer 23 February 1989]: We shall consider the case for changes in the law to provide for the use of electronic monitoring in the case of convicted offenders in the light of the outcome of the forthcoming trials and in the light of comments on the Green Paper, "Punishment, Custody and the Community".