Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to create a task force to ensure HM Inspectorate Probation recommendations are implemented across the National Probation Service and 21 community rehabilitation companies.

We take recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMI Probation) very seriously.

A dedicated unit was set up in Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) in the Summer of 2017 to coordinate implementation across the Department of all recommendations made by Inspectorates and other bodies in relation to offender services. This unit works with both the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies to ensure that changes are implemented and progress monitored.

As we set out to Parliament in July, to further strengthen the oversight of probation services we have provided additional funding to HMI Probation and are supporting them to introduce a new inspection framework from April 2018.