Recommendation 20

HMPPS is using a Funding Agreement, rather than a contract, to manage Oasis. Such an agreement will not have a defined duration, although it will include an option to terminate for convenience, and HMPPS is still working out how it will manage performance under this arrangement.68 HMPPS told us that partnership working with Oasis includes designing its Funding Agreement with input from Oasis as well as DfE. It also mentioned plans for an assurance programme with different ladders of intervention, to identify and address signs of poor performance.69 Although it seems late in the process to discuss incentives and levers in the funding agreement, HMPPS told us that it was confident it could address potential drawbacks of this approach.70