Recommendations & Conclusions
26 items
1
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
A previous Justice Committee said in 2018 that the Transforming Rehabilitation looked unlikely ever to work. Time has proved our predecessors right. We welcome the Government’s decision to reunify the Probation Service and to introduce a new probation reform programme, even if we must acknowledge how unsatisfactory it is that …
Government response. The government welcomes the Committee’s support for a unified probation service. In designing the new unified model, we have sought to learn lessons from Transforming Rehabilitation and have drawn on the insight from reports by the Committee and other scrutiny …
Ministry of Justice
2
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
This is the second major probation reform programme in the last five years. The unplanned-for effect of covid-19 has only added to the challenges the Probation Service faces. The lessons of the previous, failed reforms must be learned, and the new model must provide a lasting solution that allows some …
Government response. The government welcomes the Committee’s support for a unified probation service. In designing the new unified model, we have sought to learn lessons from Transforming Rehabilitation and have drawn on the insight from reports by the Committee and other scrutiny …
Ministry of Justice
3
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
As the then Minister of State, Lucy Frazer, acknowledged to us, one reason for the failure of the 2014–15 Transforming Rehabilitation reforms was inaccurate modelling of how much work, and therefore profit, would go to the private sector and third sector organisations allocated more than half the probation system’s overall …
Government response. Partly This recommendation has been partly agreed as the decision to discontinue to Probation Delivery Partner competitions was taken following a review process. We never enter into a procurement with the intention of cancelling it; unfortunately, changes in circumstances sometimes …
Ministry of Justice
4
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We welcome the decision to unify the Probation Service once more. We warn, however, that, after the disruption of the past seven years, changes proposed and begun to the probation system must be fully thought through, properly funded and expected to remain in place for a period of decades rather …
Government response. Agreed The government welcomes the Committee’s support for a unified probation service. In designing the new unified model, we have sought to learn lessons from Transforming Rehabilitation and have drawn on the insight from reports by the Committee and other …
Ministry of Justice
5
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
There is cause for concern in the way that some goalposts have shifted as the new model has been developed. In particular, the decision to seek Probation Delivery Partners while the new model of delivery was still being developed had unfortunate consequences. Its subsequent cancellation caused significant disappointment to those …
Government response. Partly This recommendation has been partly agreed as the decision to discontinue to Probation Delivery Partner competitions was taken following a review process. We never enter into a procurement with the intention of cancelling it; unfortunately, changes in circumstances sometimes …
Ministry of Justice
6
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
The Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland QC MP, highlighted the role of covid-19 in requiring his decision to cancel the Probation Delivery Partner programme, but we must be concerned at any possible echo of a repeat of over-rapid, under-researched reform being introduced, at great cost and inconvenience, and then swiftly reversed …
Government response. Agreed The decision to cancel the Probation Delivery Partner procurement was taken as a result of reviewing the impacts of the pandemic on our ability to deliver a smooth and successful transition. We are now implementing that strategic decision and …
Ministry of Justice
7
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recommend that the Ministry review its decision to seek partners while the new model was still being developed and to report to us on whether future procurement processes will prevent the cancellation of proposed new contacts at such a late stage in a process and after potential bidders have …
Government response. Partly Agreed This recommendation has been partly agreed as the decision to discontinue to Probation Delivery Partner competitions was taken following a review process. We never enter into a procurement with the intention of cancelling it; unfortunately, changes in circumstances …
Ministry of Justice
8
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
The new unified model has the potential to increase judicial confidence, through improved communication, sharing of relevant information and a more consistent offer of support. We recommend that the Ministry of Justice sets out how it will assess whether the new probation delivery model improves sentencer confidence, what criteria will …
Government response. Agreed We have developed a comprehensive evaluation strategy for the new probation delivery model, and sentencer confidence will be one of the measures we assess the reforms against. We have developed an annual judicial survey and administered it alongside extensive …
Ministry of Justice
9
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
Confidence in non-custodial sentencing among judges and magistrates - and, by implication, the public - will rise only if the suitability and effectiveness of such sanctions are improved. More needs to be done to address the range of issues that cause offending and, in particular in this context, reoffending after …
Government response. Agreed In the white paper ‘A Smarter Approach to Sentencing’ we have set out our plans to improve public protection while also tackling the cycle of reoffending. To achieve those goals, the changes to legislation and use of new technology …
Ministry of Justice
10
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recommend that the MOJ sets out what other action is being taken to improve judicial and public confidence in sentencing, particularly for the delivery of community sentencing. We recommend that the MOJ sets out what criteria it uses to measure the effectiveness of community sentencing, including the effect on …
Government response. Agreed In the white paper ‘A Smarter Approach to Sentencing’ we have set out our plans to improve public protection while also tackling the cycle of reoffending. To achieve those goals, the changes to legislation and use of new technology …
Ministry of Justice
11
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
Pre-sentence reports are an essential part of probation delivery and ensure that sentencers have the information necessary to make sentencing decisions that will ensure justice and support rehabilitation. We welcome the MOJ’s commitment to improving pre-sentence reports and increasing their use under the new model and are pleased to hear …
Government response. Agreed Our long-term ambition for probation’s role at court is to increase the proportion of cases sentenced with a pre-sentence report (PSR) to 75 per cent. The emphasis will be on providing more detailed reports targeting increases, in particular for …
Ministry of Justice
12
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice set out how they intend to increase NPS capacity to prepare pre-sentence reports. The MOJ should also set out what work is being done besides this to improve the quality of pre-sentence reports, ensuring 46 The future of the Probation Service that those …
Government response. Agreed Our long-term ambition for probation’s role at court is to increase the proportion of cases sentenced with a pre-sentence report (PSR) to 75 per cent. The emphasis will be on providing more detailed reports targeting increases, in particular for …
Ministry of Justice
13
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We are pleased to hear that Ministry of Justice have taken steps to make the Dynamic Framework more accessible to smaller third sector organisations, and particularly welcome the consultancy support that the Ministry of Justice have funded or made available free of charge to some smaller organisations. There is concern, …
Government response. Agreed We have had extensive engagement with Clinks throughout design and development of the Dynamic Framework (DF) and service specifications for Commissioned Rehabilitative Services. We have shared information and plans to help meaningful consultation with the voluntary sector. In its …
Ministry of Justice
14
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We welcome the work the Ministry is doing to feed into the Cabinet Office review of procurement and recommend that the MOJ update the Committee on the outcome of this review.
Government response. Agreed The formal Consultation on the Green paper on Transforming Public Procurement closed on 10 March. As a part of that Consultation the MoJ engaged with Cabinet Office to reflect on key lessons from major Programmes, drawing particularly on the …
Ministry of Justice
15
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
Although we recognise that contract values and volumes are indicative, we share in the concerns expressed by some of our witnesses, that in some instances projected volumes are lower than those that various organisations are currently working with. Given that contract value is based on projected volume, discrepancies in these …
Government response. Agreed We have awarded fixed price contracts for rehabilitative services commissioned through the Dynamic Framework, with a volume cap (with volume bands applying only in larger contracts) to mitigate financial risk to suppliers as a result of volume movement. The …
Ministry of Justice
16
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
No system can function fully from Day 1, but it is vital that probation service provision be as effective as possible. We acknowledge the fears of organisations such as NACRO about implementation of the Dynamic Framework, but equally note the confidence of the then Minister of Justice that services will …
Government response. Agreed We agree that where cases require ongoing risk management work as part of the delivery of the requirements, they are subject to, a caseload of no more than 50 is reasonable. For Probation Officers, the national average number of …
Ministry of Justice
17
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
So far as Day 1 provision itself goes, we have heard convincing evidence that some services may not be available straight away and are not clear what will be provided for those people who would use them. We invite the Ministry of Justice to set out what initial provision will …
Government response. Agreed In the absence of a commissioned service at Day 1, Probation Practitioners will support offenders to access available statutory and other provision. Also, suppliers of Personal Wellbeing services will offer additional support, including the availability of mentors, to those …
Ministry of Justice
18
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We welcome the additional investment the Ministry of Justice has made to improve Through the Gate service provision until existing contracts end. We are pleased that this additional investment has resulted in an improved service for those in need of resettlement support and we hope that the service continues to …
Government response. Agreed The resettlement approach in the unified model is based upon the principle of the Community probation practitioner responsible for managing people post release from prison, becoming responsible for pre-release activities. They will hold the single sentence plan including all …
Ministry of Justice
19
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice set out how they intend the new model to be delivered practically on a local level, and how the model will work alongside those services commissioned through the Dynamic Framework. The Ministry should detail how they will ensure the “in-reach” (pre-release contact between …
Government response. Agreed The resettlement approach in the unified model is based upon the principle of the Community probation practitioner responsible for managing people post release from prison, becoming responsible for pre-release activities. They will hold the single sentence plan including all …
Ministry of Justice
20
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We note that the new resettlement model is being developed alongside the Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) Model. While we welcome both models, our inquiry has highlighted some concern that the OMiC model has not yet been fully rolled out across the prison estate, which could affect implementation and success …
Government response. Agreed The roll out of OmiC began in 2018 and has been delivered across the prison estate through an incremental, implementation approach: • Phase 1—Key Work implemented in the closed male estate at the beginning of 2018. • Phase 2—Case …
Ministry of Justice
21
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
Probation Officers are fundamental to the delivery of probation, and we recognise the important role they play in supporting offenders and protecting the public. The Probation Service has historically faced difficulties with staffing levels, which has resulted in Probation Officers having very high caseloads, affecting their ability to manage risk …
Government response. Agreed We have met our target to recruit 1,000 additional trainee probation officer starters in 2020/2021. This is a significant uplift on our recruitment of around 600 trainees in previous years. Trainee Probation Officers take between 15 and 21 months …
Ministry of Justice
22
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recognise that newly qualified probation officers and those still in training need training, development and support, and should have smaller caseloads, but we are concerned that in the interim, caseloads for qualified probation officers will remain high. While we appreciate that many variables make setting a target caseload difficult, …
Government response. Agreed We agree that where cases require ongoing risk management work as part of the delivery of the requirements, they are subject to, a caseload of no more than 50 is reasonable. For Probation Officers, the national average number of …
Ministry of Justice
23
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We are pleased to note the Ministry’s commitment to employing more ex-offenders and welcome HMPPS’ commitment to employing 150 ex-offenders in probation. We recommend that the MOJ and HMPPS set out a detailed timeline for how it will recruit and deploy these ex-offenders. (Paragraph 128) Transition
Government response. Agreed The Probation Workforce Programme workforce strategy creates a commitment for the Probation Service to enhance our recruitment approach to attract people with lived experience of the criminal justice system. A significant step towards this will be taken on 26 …
Ministry of Justice
24
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
Transition to the new model in the context of covid-19 presents a huge operational challenge, particularly for operating models, IT systems and building leases. The Ministry and HMPPS have assured us that work is under way to ensure transition is successfully and completed on schedule. We recommend that the Ministry …
Government response. Agreed We agree to sharing regular progress updates with the committee, starting with a set of Day 1 metrics which give a snapshot of what the Programme has delivered to date and what work for transition remains outstanding, against which …
Ministry of Justice
25
Conclusion
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We are concerned to hear that some voluntary sector organisations do not feel sufficiently involved in the process to successfully manage transition.
Government response. Agreed We have had extensive engagement with Clinks throughout design and development of the Dynamic Framework (DF) and service specifications for Commissioned Rehabilitative Services. We have shared information and plans to help meaningful consultation with the voluntary sector. In its …
Ministry of Justice
26
Recommendation
18th Report - The future of the Probati…
We recommend that the MOJ and HMPPS involve voluntary organisations and CRCs in relevant communications relating to transition. We recommend that the MOJ clarify to relevant voluntary sector supply chain partners their position in relation to TUPE, including what staff members are eligible and what contract they fall into. (Paragraph …
Government response. Agreed MOJ has used data provided by the incumbent CRC and supply chain partners to clarify who is in-scope to transfer under each competition area (Region or PCC) under each service category of the Commissioned Rehabilitation Services (CRS), as part …
Ministry of Justice