A Shot Across the Bows

Thanks go to regular 'Getafix contributor for pointing us in the direction of the following shot across the bows from Their Lordships:- 

Probation Service being set up to fail with tagging expansion, says Lords committee

The Justice and Home Affairs Committee today publishes a letter to the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending and the Minister for Border Security and Asylum. In the letter, the Committee sets out its concerns about the woefully inadequate resources promised by the Government, and the absence of a new Electronic Monitoring (EM) strategy.The Committee also believes additional issues must be addressed before EM achieves its potential.

• Outcome of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee's inquiry into the use of Electronic Monitoring (EM): policy letter dated 5 November 2025 from the Chair to the Home Office and Ministry of Justice
• Inquiry: Investigation into electronic monitoring
• Justice and Home Affairs Committe

The letter

Electronic Monitoring (EM, commonly called tagging) is likely to double once the Sentencing Bill becomes law. This will require a significant increase in funding for the Probation Service, not least for additional staff and training.

It also requires a new EM strategy with a clearly defined purpose for how the Government believes EM should be used. Without such a strategy and additional funding, the probation service is being set up to fail, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee.

In its letter, the Committee finds:

• Poor communication to the Judiciary and the public by the Government, about the purpose and benefits of EM
• Insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of much of the use of EM, with evidence produced by the Government too often focusing on pilot studies and short-term reviews showing little to no evidence of quantifiable success
• Potential inability of current private contractors to handle the increase in those subject to EM
• Ethical concerns around the use of EM in some contexts, particularly its use in immigration bail
• Major concerns about the underwhelming, and at times dire, performance of the private sector providing EM services.
• Failure to fully grasp the opportunities provided by new technologies.

Chair's comments

Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee said:

“The Probation Service needs more funding, and many more well-trained staff if there is to be a successful EM expansion. Without this, the Probation Service is being set up to fail.

“It is startling that the Government is promoting the biggest expansion of EM in a generation at a time of great technological advancement yet does not see fit to accompany this with a new strategy.

“There is also a new presumption that all prison leavers will be subject to EM on their release from custody. This blanket approach to tagging, regardless of crime and circumstances, diminishes the role of effective, targeted probation interventions, and risks creating an unethical system that is overly punitive and disproportionate.

“Alongside a major boost in funding and training, and a reassessment of procurement and contract management, a new EM strategy is crucial. At a time when the use of EM is changing, with numbers almost doubling and the intention to tag most prison leavers ‘at source’, the Government must reassess its approach to EM. The rise of new technologies, including non-fitted devices and AI, further highlight the importance of a new strategy, one which clearly defines the purpose of EM to both the judiciary and the public.

“We look forward to the Government’s response to the observations and recommendations in this letter.”