Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of recent HM Inspectorate of Probation reports which indicate that workloads in both the National Probation Service and community rehabilitation companies are dangerously high.

The great majority of Quality & Impact Reports by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation have commented favourably on the performance of the National Probation Service (NPS). We recognise that staff shortages in certain parts of the country have resulted in high caseloads in those areas. The NPS is addressing this via a major recruitment campaign and is on target to recruit around 500 additional trainee probation officers, and over 1000 probation service officers in 2017-18.

Contracts with Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) require each that each CRC ensures that it employs a sufficient level of staff, and that its workforce is competent and adequately trained. We closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer.