Prison rehabilitation reforms far from complete, MPs say

A report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has highlighted that the government’s pledge to revolutionise the process of probation is far from complete.

In its report, the Committee said there was ‘no clear picture’ of how the probation system was performing, two years after the changes had been announced, with numerous IT issues acting to ‘undermine the pace of change’.

The changes to probation were announced in 2014, with the service being split in to: Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) supervising low- and medium-risk offenders; and a new National Probation Service (NPS) taking over the supervision of high-risk offenders.

However, the PAC’s report warned: "The Ministry of Justice is now more than two years into these ambitious reforms, intended to reduce reoffending, but they are far from complete.

"There is still no clear picture of how the new system is performing in important areas of the reforms."

The group of MPs outlined that it was unclear whether extending the supervision of offenders sentenced for less than 12 months was having the desired impact, sine almost 60 per cent of people with such sentences reoffended with a year.

The report concluded: “It is crucial that the ministry completes the 'rehabilitation revolution' it has started and makes good on its promise to reduce the huge economic and human cost of reoffending.”

Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC, commented: “Ambition is one thing, but, as our committee continues to document across government, delivering positive results for taxpayers and society in general is quite another.

"'Revolution' is a potent word the government may regret using to describe its reforms to rehabilitation.

"After two years, these are far from complete, and there remain serious risks to achieving the performance levels expected by the end of 2017."

Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said: "We are carrying out a comprehensive review of the probation service to improve outcomes for offenders and communities.

"Public protection is our top priority, and we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to make sure our vital reforms are being delivered to reduce reoffending, cut crime and prevent future victims."