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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has chosen Capita as the preferred supplier for its high profile electronic monitoring contract. The announcement comes just weeks after incumbent suppliers Serco and G4S were forced to withdraw from the tender process having been accused by the MoJ of overcharging on their offender tagging contracts (see here and here in the UKHotViews archive).
Serco and G4S’ loss is Capita’s gain. The contract, which is being let on a national basis for the first time, is estimated to be worth £400m over six years based on an anticipated increase in the use of electronic tags. From 2014, Capita will be responsible for electronic monitoring and field support services and also take on the role of overall services and systems integrator, ensuring that the software, hardware and mobile network procured separately by the MoJ ‘work seamlessly together’. Under the deal, Capita will TUPE around 1,000 staff over in January.
Interestingly, the contract also allows for the procurement of related services by other government bodies such as the probation service and social care agencies; as well as the joint exploitation internationally of the IPR that underpins the service. Capita expects “further significant growth” from these avenues, but we remain sceptical given the failure of similar public sector contract clauses to deliver notable revenue in the past.
With Serco and G4S out of the running, Capita was high on our list of possible contenders for the contract. It acquired custody support and secure transport services provider Reliance Secure Task Management last August (see here) and there aren’t many other players in the UK with the scale and experience required to take on this national deal. It’s undoubtedly a significant win for the company – indeed, CEO Paul Pindar claims that when fully live it will be “the largest, single and most advanced `tagging' system in the world”. But as Serco and G4S know only too well, such high profile deals carry their reputational risks – Capita must be prepared to operate in the glare of the public spotlight.
