Background
The Probation Service, part of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), supervises offenders in England and Wales who are serving community sentences or have been released into the community from prison. The Probation Service aims to protect the public through the effective rehabilitation of offenders. In 2018, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estimated that reoffending had an estimated economic and social cost of £18.1 billion a year. At the end of June 2024, 238,646 offenders were under probation supervision.
The Probation Service has undergone two major reorganisations in the last 10 years. Most recently, in 2021, MoJ reunified probation services to bring it back under full public control following a period of part-privatisation. The MoJ expected that reunification would improve the consistency of offender supervision and the resilience of its workforce.
In July 2024, in response to high workloads, increasing demand and quality issues, HMPPS reduced probation supervision requirements for low and medium risk offenders (Probation Reset).
Scope
This study follows our 2019 report on Transforming Rehabilitation and 2023 report on Improving resettlement support for prison leavers. It will consider:
- whether HMPPS has the information it needs to understand demand, capacity and performance within the Probation Service and to make both short- and long-term decisions
- how effectively MoJ and HMPPS are working to improve the resilience of the Probation Service in both the short and long term
- the extent to which HMPPS is effectively supporting delivery of commissioned services and interventions to improve reoffending and rehabilitation outcomes
NAO Team
Director: Jenny George
Audit Manager: Kemi Duroshola