Probation Services

The Government plans to unify the management of offenders under a single organisation by June next year, ensuring that community sentences will be delivered even in times of disruption such as covid-19. The reforms also involve retaining roles for specialist and voluntary organisations providing essential rehabilitation support.

The Minister acknowledges the need to adjust the way probation services are delivered and commits to securing substantial funding for the National Probation Service, embracing technology, and encouraging private sector staff to continue their work. He emphasises a non-ideological approach focused on evidence.

The former probation Minister supports the current move but notes that previous reforms had issues with company size and lack of local engagement. He suggests focusing on smaller organisations, working with police and crime commissioners for co-commissioning, and engaging charities and other sectors in rehabilitation efforts.

Acknowledges the dedication of CRCs while addressing concerns about morale and workload. The Government's increased funding aims to reduce probation officer workload by 20%, improve work management, attract new talent, and retain experienced staff.

Compliments the excellent community rehabilitation company in Kent and seeks assurance that expertise will not be lost and services will remain uninterrupted during transfer.

Reassures Laura Trott about transferring staff's expertise and commitment to harnessing the best practices, including specialised work on stalking victims.

Highlights inadequate through-the-gate services as a major cause of reoffending. Suggests focusing last months of custodial sentences on creating foundations for release and involving third sector organisations.

Acknowledges the importance of through-the-gate services, mentioning £22 million investment in these services. Emphasises collaboration between probation officers and prison staff to create a cohesive approach for offenders' release.

Welcomes the involvement of voluntary sector organisations in rehabilitation. Urges not to denigrate efforts of private sector organisations, regardless of their role's future shape, focusing on reducing reoffending.

Acknowledges Jeremy Wright’s point about the importance of shared values in probation services and highlights the Government's creation of licence and supervision periods for short-term prison sentences.

Highlights criticism from the Justice Select Committee report on privatized probation service, emphasising concerns about output-based contracts. Requests confirmation of sufficient funding for issues such as heavy caseloads, poor IT systems, and working with specialist services.

Acknowledges £155 million uplift in Ministry of Justice revenue budget. Emphasises continued investment to reduce workloads, enhance sophistication through technology, and improve probation service overall.

Expresses concern about the statement's impact on improving probation services for constituents, praising previous improvements. Seeks reassurance that reforms do not undermine progress made by CRCs.

Reassures Damian Green about retaining dedicated public servants and their ethos during the transition to a unified probation service, aiming for enhanced effectiveness in reducing reoffending.

Critiques the ideological approach over evidence-based policy-making. Urges Secretary of State to harness experiences and talents within NPS and CRCs as reforms proceed.

Agrees with Alex Norris on the need for a collaborative approach, committing to work with unions and representative bodies to ensure robust reforms post-June 2021.

Suggests extending CRC contracts by six months to facilitate smoother transition. Requests emphasis on innovation, flexible staffing, and empowerment during integration into public sector.

Explains the decision not to extend CRC contracts further based on the need for simplicity and clarity in reform implementation by June 2021.

Welcomes Secretary of State's statement, emphasising local community links as crucial for reducing reoffending rates. Advocates for collaboration with colleges and employers to support released prisoners.

Agrees on the importance of linking education facilities in the community to support released prisoners, aiming to make robust community sentences a default choice over short sentences.

Compliments the hard work at MoJ and Prison and Probation Service during challenging times. Advocates for focusing debate on educational, training, and rehabilitation outcomes in prison creation.

He emphasised the need to focus on future outcomes and reducing offending, highlighting the importance of a home, job, and friend for rehabilitation.

She questioned the Secretary of State about accountability in places like Beverley Road spine in Hull, where many ex-offenders lived, following the regime brought by his Government.

He explained that the structure will be regional within a national framework of the National Probation Service with accountability through HM Prison and Probation Service. He also highlighted the importance of local police and crime commissioners in ensuring responsiveness to trends in local areas.

He asked about the integration with Welsh health and education policies as recommended by the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales, questioning if further devolution would improve rehabilitation outcomes.

He argued that the probation service was already unified from the end of last year and was delivering an integrated service in Wales, led by Amy Rees. He stated they did not need further devolution.

He welcomed the announcement regarding probation services, highlighting benefits such as unified leadership, clear accountability, and mobilising resources.

He assured that decisions were made based on evidence rather than ideology. He expressed disappointment with some comments from the Labour party regarding these decisions.

He welcomed the announcement, acknowledging probation privatisation had failed. He asked about improving accountability in probation services and for an enhanced role of devolved English authorities such as Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

He noted there was already an agreement between his Department and Greater Manchester to work on commissioning, providing more flexibility for the authority in delivering services that residents wanted.

She raised concerns about young men from the black community being disproportionately likely to end up in the criminal justice system. She asked how probation officers could engage intensively with this cohort.

He mentioned extensive work was underway on training probation officers, including a focus on black and minority ethnic issues to inform judges' decisions. He highlighted the high BAME representation among the probation workforce.

He welcomed today’s Government U-turn regarding probation services but requested a strategy for resettlement of offenders, integrating all aspects of probation from through-the-gate support to more frequent contacts with offenders.

He stated his approach focused on bringing together all agencies including criminal justice, public health, education, housing and other local services. He emphasised the need for everyone to work towards reducing reoffending.

He asked if a key element of the future probation service would be focusing on reducing the £18 billion cost to the taxpayer from reoffending.

He confirmed that reducing reoffending was indeed a focus, particularly for offenders on short-term sentences. He highlighted the importance of swift justice and well-crafted pre-sentence reports.

He questioned why the renationalisation was happening now when most services were already in-house last year. He also challenged whether this privatisation had been an unmitigated disaster from start to finish.

He responded that his view was not ideological, and that they were incorporating new learning and experience from the last few years, including local best practices from CRCs on the ground.

He asked how the announced steps would improve efficiencies in magistrates courts regarding stand-down reports conducted by probation staff.

He explained that there was a need for swift justice, but also value in properly crafted pre-sentence reports. He aimed to see more of them used while delivering case management that supports swift justice.

She questioned what the Ministry could do to instil confidence in alternatives to prisons, such as women’s centres, which work better than short prison sentences for women and their dependants.

He mentioned investments made under the female offender strategy in 2018 to organisations working in this specialist sector, including a new centre in Wales which would cater for localised sentencing and support women effectively.

He asked if it was right to follow former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s footsteps by introducing independent sector providers to the NHS, as any Government should try different mechanisms for delivering best outcomes for service users and taxpayers.

Mr Buckland reminded the House about past ideological experiments and stressed the importance of focusing on evidence rather than ideology. He also encouraged free association of workers, valuing public service regardless of its sector origin.

Mrs Foy thanked the Government for ending privatisation in probation services and hoped it would encourage other criminal justice services to return under public control. She also paid tribute to trade unions that campaigned against this experiment.

Mr Buckland responded by praising the ethos of public service and acknowledging the dedication of staff in private sector probation services, while supporting a mixed approach to harnessing talent from various sectors.

Mr Matheson questioned whether it is morally right to profit from incarceration and rehabilitation. He challenged the Secretary of State on the moral justification of such practices.

Mr Buckland argued that a mixed approach allows for better utilisation of resources, both state-led and from private or voluntary sectors, to address causes of offending more effectively. He did not accept the suggestion of an ideological difference between these approaches.

Ms McCarthy asked for a commitment based on Baroness Corston’s work to increase capacity in services like Eden House, which provides alternatives to custody for vulnerable female offenders.

Mr Buckland acknowledged the work of Baroness Corston and expressed support for the Female Offenders Strategy. He announced a new centre in Wales designed to replicate small-scale residential yet secure environments, aiming to keep women out of prison.

Ms Crouch recognised the example set by an employee-owned CRC in Kent and asked the Secretary of State to confirm his commitment to a mixed market approach, allowing initiatives like this to continue positively contributing.

Mr Buckland acknowledged Ms Crouch's consistent raising of these issues and confirmed the need for a mixed economy approach. He expressed gratitude for her commitment to ensuring this initiative's sense of personal ownership is maintained during transition.