Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will end privatisation within the probation service, increase staffing and resources for the service, and give the service a greater role in managing and working with offenders in the community.

Private and third sector providers play a crucial role in delivering probation services which protect the public and reduce reoffending. The department has contracts with 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), comprising both private and third sector organisations, who work alongside the National Probation Service (NPS) to supervise and reform offenders.

We have recently amended our contracts with CRCs to reflect more accurately the fixed costs of delivering services to offenders. This will enable CRCs to focus on delivering critical operational services. Contracts already require CRCs to have a sufficient level of trained staff, and we closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their contractual requirements.

In 2017-18 the NPS is running several national recruitment campaigns and is on course to recruit over 1,000 additional staff to train as Probation Service Officers and Probation Officers.

As set out in a written statement laid on 19 July 2017, we continue to work with providers to explore further improvements we can make to the delivery of probation services.