Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes have been implemented in the Probation Service following HM Chief Inspector of Probation’s thematic review on Probation Recall, published on 14 December 2023.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation published a report on 14 December 2023 entitled: ‘A thematic inspection of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) recall decisions’.

In this report, the Chief Inspector found that the Probation Service were taking proportionate and necessary decisions to recall offenders on licence for public protection. The report did, however, also find that in some cases, additional support might have helped manage offenders in the community and made recommendations, which were accepted by the previous Government. HMPPS aligned and embedded the actions to address the recommendations into the IPP Action Plan and has taken these forwards in 2024/25.

Specifically, the HMPPS IPP Action Plan, a refreshed version of which was laid in Parliament on 15 November, has led to three key changes to support the management of IPP offenders on licence in the community. The first is the roll out of IPP Delivery Plans in each HMPPS operational area, which include a specific strategic objective to support the community reintegration of newly released IPP offenders and improve the effectiveness of management of IPP cases in the community. The second is for HMPPS Psychology Services to work alongside the Probation Service in supporting those offenders with complex needs during the challenging transitional period following first release. The third is the commencement of a pilot to improve the level and type of support offered to IPP offenders whilst they reside in an Approved Premises and in the lead up to their required move-on to new accommodation.

The Government also acted swiftly to commence the IPP measures in the Victims and Prisoners Act, which led to the automatic termination of licence for 1,742 cases on 1 November 2024.