Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Divisional Sex Offender Units within the Probation Service on the management and treatment of sex offenders.

The Probation Regional Sexual Offending Units deliver accredited programmes for men convicted of sexual offences. These programmes are operated to set standards overseen by an independent panel of experts. Delivery sites are expected to monitor delivery to ensure that programmes are delivered as designed. Additionally, quality of delivery of accredited programmes is overseen centrally by HMPPS Interventions Services using the Interventions Integrity Framework (IIF), which reflects best practice and accreditation standards.

Accredited programmes are only one part of the range of activities undertaken by the probation service as part of someone’s overall sentence plan to manage the risk presented by this group. These activities include assessment of risk and development of an effective risk management plan, which may include supervision, monitoring, and work with other agencies under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arra1ngements (MAPPA).