Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) advice and (b) written guidance (i) he, (ii) Ministers and (iii) officials in his Department have given to Aspire to Change (A2C) since December 2013; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Under Transforming Rehabilitation, we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Managers in a number of Probation Trusts, including Essex, have set up mutuals so that they can bid to become owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). In line with wider Government policy, we have encouraged those Trusts that have been interested to consider the mutual option. All those developing mutuals have had the opportunity to bid for further advice, guidance and assistance through the Cabinet Office Mutual Support Programme (MSP). The MSP has allocated a total of £1.5million to support prospective mutuals with the greatest potential. Support to organisations has been provided in two phases. Phase 1 supported organisations to prepare them for the competition. Phase 2 is providing further support to those that passed the first stage of the competition throughout the negotiation phase and, if they are successful in the competition, support their transition to a mutual.
We launched the competition to establish the owners of the 21 CRCs on 19 September 2013. Competition rules preclude this Department from contacting potential bidders other than through the competition process so that is, and will remain the only avenue for Aspire 2 Change Ltd. to communicate with the Department until the competition is completed.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid by his Department to Aspire to Change (A2C) since its formation; for what purpose each payment was made; what assessment he has made of the value for money of such expenditure; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Under Transforming Rehabilitation, we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Managers in a number of Probation Trusts, including Essex, have set up mutuals so that they can bid to become owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). In line with wider Government policy, we have encouraged those Trusts that have been interested to consider the mutual option. All those developing mutuals have had the opportunity to bid for further advice, guidance and assistance through the Cabinet Office Mutual Support Programme (MSP). The MSP has allocated a total of £1.5million to support prospective mutuals with the greatest potential. Support to organisations has been provided in two phases. Phase 1 supported organisations to prepare them for the competition. Phase 2 is providing further support to those that passed the first stage of the competition throughout the negotiation phase and, if they are successful in the competition, support their transition to a mutual.
We launched the competition to establish the owners of the 21 CRCs on 19 September 2013. Competition rules preclude this Department from contacting potential bidders other than through the competition process so that is, and will remain the only avenue for Aspire 2 Change Ltd. to communicate with the Department until the competition is completed.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) discussions with and (b) representations from Aspire to Change (A2C) (i) he, (ii) Ministers and (iii) officials in his Department have had since December 2013; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Under Transforming Rehabilitation, we are opening up the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Managers in a number of Probation Trusts, including Essex, have set up mutuals so that they can bid to become owners of the new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). In line with wider Government policy, we have encouraged those Trusts that have been interested to consider the mutual option. All those developing mutuals have had the opportunity to bid for further advice, guidance and assistance through the Cabinet Office Mutual Support Programme (MSP). The MSP has allocated a total of £1.5million to support prospective mutuals with the greatest potential. Support to organisations has been provided in two phases. Phase 1 supported organisations to prepare them for the competition. Phase 2 is providing further support to those that passed the first stage of the competition throughout the negotiation phase and, if they are successful in the competition, support their transition to a mutual.
We launched the competition to establish the owners of the 21 CRCs on 19 September 2013. Competition rules preclude this Department from contacting potential bidders other than through the competition process so that is, and will remain the only avenue for Aspire 2 Change Ltd. to communicate with the Department until the competition is completed.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to announce the finalists for each community rehabilitation company; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014. Bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected in June 2014. In mid December 2013, the 30 bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the rehabilitation contracts were announced and approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many bids have been received for each community rehabilitation company; how many of those were (a) successful and (b) discounted; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014. Bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected in June 2014. In mid December 2013, the 30 bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the rehabilitation contracts were announced and approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with Essex Probation Service since November 2013; what issues were raised in each such discussion; what steps his Department took following each such discussion; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
There have been no discussions between Ministers and Essex Probation Trust since November 2013. Ministry of Justice officials are in frequent contact with the trust.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the salary was of the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chairman of the Essex Probation Trust in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Iain Wright
The information requested is as follows:
2012-13 | 2013-14 | |
Chief Executive | 85,000 – 90,000 | 85,000 – 90,000 |
Chair | 15,000 – 20,000 | 15,000 – 20,000 |