Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s report, Caseloads, workloads and staffing levels in probation Services, published in March 2021, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits for reducing (a) reoffending and (b) the costs to the public purse of reoffending of reduced caseloads for probation staff.

The work of probation staff is a vital part of protecting the public and cutting the annual £18 billion cost of reoffending. It is important that our probation system offers the support individuals need to rehabilitate and turn their backs on crime for good.

Our reforms, including ambitious recruitment of new probation officers and improvements to caseload management, will enable effective supervision and rehabilitation of people in the system. Probation officer numbers are approaching a four-year high and are at their second-highest level since 2014. We are committed to recruiting 1,000 trainee Probation Officers in 2020/21, with 443 already started in July 2020 and further intakes planned throughout 2021.

Wider reforms to the probation system will also support our aim of reducing reoffending and the associated cost to the public. A greater range of resettlement and rehabilitative services will be commissioned regionally and locally from specialist organisations. This will enable the delivery of services that can be tailored to respond to the diverse backgrounds and needs of individuals to effect positive outcomes as well as maximise opportunities for collaboration with local partners, including Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations, local authorities and Police and Crime Commissioners.