Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department conducted or commissioned before the decision to introduce 11 new probation regions.

Proposals for a consolidation of probation regions in England and Wales were included in the public consultation Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence. Feedback on these proposals formed part of the Department’s considerations in addition to further consultation with Police and Crime Commissioners, Local Authorities and other key stakeholders to ensure the proposed regional structure effectively facilitates joint working between probation providers and key partners at a regional and local level .