Home Office faces prospect of legal action after directive to
probation staff
The Home Office could face legal action from probation officers
after they were told to continue using a bug-ridden IT system that
has been condemned on health and safety grounds.
The Unix-based Case Record and Management System (Crams) is the
probation service's key business system, but it has been subject to
years of complaint from users. These complaints have been backed by
two damning independent ergonomic reports.
Responding to user pressure, Home Office minister Paul Boateng
said last Christmas that Crams would be replaced over 12 months
with Copernicus, a new Windows-based system.
However Copernicus has been put on hold while the Government
tries to develop a criminal justice system backed by integrated
IT.
Plans to put Copernicus out to tender were pulled after the
Government's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency warned
that Copernicus might not be compatible with the much delayed
Quantum prison service IT project.
The Home Office told Computer Weekly, "Given the demands
on the probation service it was felt this was not the time to
impose further IT-related change."
"We are committed to replacing Crams," a spokeswoman added.
Sally Springate, client director at Bull, which holds the
probation service's IT outsourcing contract, said the Home Office
had signed new contracts that would give Crams users significantly
improved levels of support.
Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation
offices union NAPO, said, "We believe Crams to be in contravention
of health and safety regulations and will be pursuing the matter
with our lawyers with a view to pulling the plugs."