Written question asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 2 November 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 10 November 1999. It was answered by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 November 1999 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has, at what cost, to upgrade the software used by the Probation Service; and if he will publish a detailed list of errors in and omissions from the specifications of the original software.

Answer: Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has, at what cost, to upgrade the software used by the Probation Service; and if he will publish a detailed list of errors in and omissions from the specifications of the original software. [97549] Mr. Boateng: The Probation Service uses a variety of software packages including e-mail, word processing, other office automation products and a national case management system. Because of plans to modernise both the Probation Service's structure and ways of working, and as new possibilities have arisen from recent technology, we have also decided to re-develop the national case management system. This work is in its planning stages and work to estimate likely costs has not been completed. The software has been subject to change and enhancements over the past few years. The rollout of the current version of the Case Management System is nearing completion. Bespoke software of any degree of complexity often contains some bugs, even after thorough testing. The list of outstanding faults on the Case Management System changes rapidly as the Home Office, Probation Services and the Contractor work together to reduce the number of errors. The error list falls under the definition of Confidential Information in the contract with our suppliers and, therefore, cannot be published.

Secondary information