Recommendation R4: PNC investment
From The Bichard Inquiry Report, published 22 June 2004.
Recommendation
Investment should be made available by Government to secure the PNC's medium and long-term future, given its importance to intelligence-led policing and to the criminal justice system as a whole. I note that PITO has begun this work.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended government investment to secure the future of the Police National Computer (PNC). The Home Office stated in May 2007 that the PNC had been re-platformed, securing its medium-term future, while its long-term future was not mentioned in the sources (Home Office, May 2007). In September 2021, the National Audit Office found that the replacement National Law Enforcement Data Programme was overdue and had yet to deliver expected services, with total costs rising to £1.1 billion (Gareth Davies, Sep 2021). The auditor also found that the PNC remained based on obsolescent technology, making it expensive to operate and difficult to update (Gareth Davies, Sep 2021).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The central information service, currently provided by the PNC, will remain at the heart of police information management and specific improvements are planned in addition to IMPACT. The new Code of Practice setting standards for the quality and timeliness of PNC data input will be in force by January 2005 and arrangements are being made for these standards to be inspected as part of both the Police Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF) and the Baseline Assessments operated by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The project to enable the courts to input case results directly onto the PNC has been re-energised around the need for new technical solutions and will be completed before the end of 2006. Detailed information on IT developments is set out in Section 3.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Government accepted all 31 recommendations collectively: the Home Secretary's written statement of 11 January 2005 records that "All 31 recommendations were accepted by the Government when the Inquiry reported in June 2004". No document states an acceptance decision for any single recommendation. The response shown against each recommendation is the Home Office's answer to it in the first progress report, sent to Sir Michael Bichard on 22 December 2004 and placed in the Library of the House on 11 January 2005. The Government then reported against the recommendations three more times, in November 2005, May 2006 and May 2007; the updates shown are taken from those reports.
Delivery
Home Office says in progress (22 May 2007)
In the meantime, the PNC has been re-platformed securing its medium-term future in line with Recommendation 4.
From: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Fourth Progress Report
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
National Audit Office (8 September 2021)
While generally reliable, the PNC is based on obsolescent technology that makes it expensive to operate and difficult to update, with a shortage of staff with the necessary skills
From: The National Law Enforcement Data Programme, Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General
Earlier findings (1)
National Audit Office (8 September 2021)
Five years after the Department established the NLEDS programme in 2016, the programme is already overdue, has yet to deliver the expected services and the total costs to the Department have increased by 68% to £1.1 billion.
From: The National Law Enforcement Data Programme, Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General
Responsible bodies
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement - National Audit Office
Finding