Since 2021, the number of people fitted with Electronic Monitoring (EM) tags has more than doubled, rising from around 10,000 in 2020 to 28,700 in March 2026. Efforts to update the system in 2024 saw early performance issues which led to significant tagging backlogs. Following the implementation of the Sentencing Act earlier this year, this figure is expected to increase by around 22,000 additional individuals by 2029, in what has been described as "this is the biggest expansion of tagging in British history".
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) previously published a report on transforming the electronic monitoring services in 2022, which built on the findings of its 2018 report. The PAC found that weak governance and a reliance on outdated systems had led to avoidable mistakes that had wasted £98 million of taxpayers’ money.
In summer 2026, the National Audit Office (NAO) will publish a report into the EM service examining whether EM is working effectively now, and whether the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) and partners are ready to scale the system while managing risks to public protection.
Proceeding from the NAO’s report, the PAC will take evidence from witnesses including senior MoJ and HMPPS officials on subjects including the weakness in the current approach to tagging, supplier performance, and the level of risk that failings in this system could pose to the public.
The Committee will welcome written evidence on these issues in due course.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree. It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this.