The National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) has given a
cautious welcome to the Home Office's deal with Integris to provide
IT for the probation service in England and Wales.
Harry Fletcher, NAPO assistant general secretary, said, "Our
experience of probation-service IT over the last seven years has
been
disastrous. We hope that the Home Office has learnt the lessons of
the past and will continue to consult with users."
The two-and-a-half-year contract, which begins on 1 January 2002,
will cover support and maintenance of the probation service's IT
infrastructure, desktops and the controversial Crams case
management system.
Earlier this year the National Audit Office (NAO) criticised the
Home Office over the state of the probation service's IT. Auditors
found mismanagement and said that the Crams system was difficult to
use and incapable of keeping pace with changing business
needs.
Whitehall sources confirm that a new contract to replace Crams is
expected in 2003 or 2004.
The interim deal with Integris is designed to help resolve
long-standing problems in the probation service's information
systems strategy. Officials have confirmed that another deal will
be negotiated in the future to take the service's IT strategy
through to 2010.
A spokesperson for the National Probation Service said, "This deal
puts the probation service on a firm footing and builds on the work
that has been done to remedy gaps identified by the NAO."