Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the risk to public safety of the transition of case management work in England from Community Rehabilitation Companies to the National Probation Service at the end of 2019.

Public protection is our top priority as we manage the transition of case management work. We will carefully consider how to manage transition to the new model in a way which minimises disruption to staff, offenders and those that interact with the probation service in the wider criminal justice system. We will take a staged approach to transition, ensuring that staff and offenders are supported throughout the change and that the public is protected at all times.