Probation: Bury South

(asked on 19th February 2024) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) support and (b) funding his Department provides to local probation services in Bury South constituency to help ensure effective rehabilitation of people leaving the criminal justice system.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 27th February 2024

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) service delivery in Greater Manchester supports all Criminal Justice activity for the Bury Borough. This includes all aspects of Community and Custodial practice across public protection, sentencing, sentence management and delivery, resettlement and reintegration.

Greater Manchester Probation Service (GMPS) on behalf of HMPPS have a unique approach to commissioning rehabilitative services across the region. Services are co-commissioned with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). There is a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the principles of our approach, signed by both parties. There are also grant agreements in place which enable the co-commissioning to proceed in a way that provides both flexibility and assurance. These arrangements have enabled procurement of services at locality level, and there is specific activity across the Bury Borough.

From a wider partnership aspect, Reducing Reoffending is one of the six priorities of the Bury Community Safety Partnership (CSP), with the priority led by the local probation manager who chairs a multiagency steering group for this priority.

GMPS is an active participant in the Bury Community Safety Partnership, which encompasses work to tackle drug & alcohol related harm; involvement in the Prevent Partnership and Channel Panel (as part of CONTEST Counter-terror duty); involvement in the Domestic Abuse Partnership Board; involvement in the Bury Serious Violence Duty Steering Group and is the lead agency for actions in emerging Serious Violence Duty Delivery Plan to reduce serious violence related harm (offending and related hospital admissions).

GMPS lead engagement with the Creating & Maintaining Safe Spaces subgroup on Community Payback opportunities to link into local environmental improvement works.

Bury CSP (through GMCA core grant to CSP) have funded the Gateway project to break the cycle of substance misuse and offending,

Through the Co-commission approach outlined, approximately 60 services across the GM Region have been procured in this financial year, all of which support reducing harm and reoffending activities.

There has been investment and collaboration where appropriate with local authorities to procure services and ensure alignment with local Criminal Justice Priorities.

HMPPS delegate 4 reducing reoffending budgets into the GM region which are for the specific purpose of reducing reoffending in the region. These are Community Accommodation Service Tier 3, Community Rehabilitation Service, Integrated Offender Management and Regional Outcome and Innovation Fund. The Bury Borough are provided with services from each of these budgets, and this equates to roughly a 10% share.

Specifically, rehabilitative services in Bury cover the following: services for women; services for accommodation; services for training, education and access to employment; peer mentoring; drug and alcohol interventions; wellbeing support for improving physical and mental health.

The question specifies 'people leaving the criminal justice service’. GMPS has formal responsibility for those within the system and this answer details the offer in this context. However, given close integration with GMCA and local authorities, the intention is to provide a link to continuity of help in local areas like Bury, beyond the period someone is subject to probation supervision.

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