A report from the National Audit Office has highlighted
shortcomings in the Prison Service's IT strategy for procurement.
The report, Modernising Procurement within the Prison Service, said
the organisation lacks common, service-wide IT support for purchase
order processing and stock control.
In 2001, the Prison Service attempted to introduce an integrated
purchase order processing and stock control system called Pop/Stock
to enable orders to be processed electronically and to improve
stock management. But the project has been postponed pending the
introduction of "suitable IT infrastructure".
Public Accounts Committee chairman Edward Leigh said, "The Prison
Service should continue to pursue the adoption of a service-wide IT
system, not only to streamline procurement processes but also to
facilitate the sharing of good practice between prisons."
The NAO report did predict, however, that a new intranet will
improve communication within the service. It said, "Communication
between the contracts and procurement unit and prisons is likely to
be improved by the recent introduction of a service-wide
intranet."
A Prison Service spokeswoman said, "We welcome the report and we
are considering its recommendations."
The Prison Service spent £461m on supplies in 2001-2002. The report
acknowledged that procurement practice has been improved through
the centralisation of purchasing functions.