Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the contracting-out of the Probation Service during 2014.

Under our reforms the market will be opened up to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. A more diverse market of rehabilitation providers will bring innovation in rehabilitative services, helping to deliver a real reduction in reoffending rates. The process to establish the owners of the 21 new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) with responsibility for the provision of rehabilitation services is well underway. We will assess the bids we receive over the summer, and expect to sign contracts with new CRC owners later this year. We remain committed to seeing Payment by Results rolled out across the system by 2015.