Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) charitable organisations will be paid for resettlement support services they have provided under contract to Working Links (b) those services are able to continue.

As you know, Working Links went into administration on 14 February. Probation services in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall; Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; and Wales, transferred to Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), owned by Seetec, on 15 February. The probation supply chain in these areas will now be the responsibility of Kent, Surrey and Sussex CRC and Seetec.

We recognise the importance of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and are in continued dialogue, engaging directly with them. Service improvements and stability in probation services are our priorities and we are working closely with all affected organisations, alongside Seetec, to monitor the transition and mobilisation of services against contractual obligations.