§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the development and provision of electronic custody systems for the police; when such systems will be available; what is the expected cost of such systems; what has been the total cost of their development to date; and what was the planned date for such systems to be available. [159696]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeWork is in progress to develop an electronic custody system. Implementation within all forces is likely to be achieved within two calendar years of a product becoming available. There is currently no planned date for a custody product to be available. Development costs of the application have been at the suppliers own risk. Internal project costs are estimated as being approximately £2 million. Central government is to provide £46 million to implement the custody and an electronic case preparation system once plans have been agreed. The original delivery date for the custody application was August 2000 with roll-out to all forces by December 2002.