Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Community Payback Pilots

Tuesday 20 February 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Community payback teams are operating in partnership with 11 local authorities to address antisocial behaviour.
  • Pilots started in July 2023 and involved 175 people completing approximately 2,000 hours of unpaid work.
  • The Government is analysing the outcomes and will consider a wider roll-out based on the analysis results.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
Crime & Law Enforcement Community Security
Context

Community payback teams are working in partnership with local authorities to clean up antisocial behaviour. The question arises from the assessment of these pilot schemes.

Question

What assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the rapid deployment community payback pilots, which were supposed to pave the way for swift restorative justice?

Answer from Edward Argar

Community payback teams are working in partnership with 11 local authorities to clean up antisocial behaviour, with pilots starting in July 2023. Initial observations suggest success, with thousands of hours of reparative work completed by people on probation within 48 hours after local authority notification.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The hon. Gentleman asked specifically about the assessment and progress of these pilots, but the response focuses more on the initial observations without addressing the specific evaluation or the lack of delivery.

How: Initial Observations Suggest Success

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Q2 Alistair Strathern Lab Hitchin
Employment
Context

The initial rapid-deployment community payback scheme pilots were planned to deliver 20,000 hours of work but only delivered 2,000 hours. This prompted the question about barriers to success and further roll-out.

Question

Of a planned 20,000 hours of work, only 2,000 hours have been delivered by the pilots. Can the Minister reveal whether that is the case? If so, what can be learned from these clear barriers to success?

Answer from Edward Argar

These pilots involved 175 people completing around 2,000 hours of unpaid work in 11 areas over three months. The Government is analysing outcomes and will explore wider roll-out based on analysis results.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The hon. Gentleman asked for insights into barriers to success but the Minister did not provide any specific information about these barriers.

How: I Am Grateful To The Hon. Gentleman, But The Clue Is In The Word “Pilot”

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