Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to address the problems identified in HM Inspectorate of Probation's report on Gloucestershire with service delivery carried out by working links.

There is a contractual mechanism for dealing with recommendations made in HM Inspectorate of Probation reports and, as a result, Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) are required to prepare action plans to address the issues raised. Contract Management Teams give high priority to ensuring that those plans are followed through, and ensure that those actions are successful in addressing the points raised.

Public protection is our top priority and we will take all necessary action to make sure the probation system is reducing reoffending and preventing future victims.

We have fundamentally reformed probation so that for the first time ever all offenders given a custodial sentence receive probation support on release. We continue to work with the CRCs to ensure they deliver services that have the correct levels of supervision and support for offenders.