Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when will the strategic governance review of the Probationary Service be published.

The Government has committed to undertake a strategic review of the Probation Service in its manifesto. We remain committed to this and will review governance arrangements, looking at local partnerships across England and Wales.

This work will follow implementation of the Sentencing Bill reforms, which will significantly change how the Probation Service operates. Governance arrangements must be designed to enable and support the effective delivery of these reforms. Our priority is to ensure the Probation Service is on a stable footing and performance has improved before undertaking the review.

In the meantime, this Government will continue to strengthen joint working with local partners to reduce reoffending and better protect the public.