Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the need to improve partnership working culture and skills within the probation workforce.

We set out our vision for our future probation workforce in our Probation Workforce Strategy published this summer.

This includes, working in partnership with other providers and agencies as part of successful delivery of Sentence Management; having an open learning culture with easy access to high-quality, practical learning resources; and developing a cultural vision for the organisation which will be captured in a Probation Culture Code.

We are keen to capitalise and build on existing relationships so that Probation Practitioners can work with other local partners, including health and related partners, to strengthen rehabilitation, social inclusion and improved outcomes, including on release from custody. Our future model of commissioning, the ‘Dynamic Framework’, will ensure all potential providers, regardless of sector, can play their part in delivering transformation probation services.