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Probation trusts launched to find the best route to reduce re-offending

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE News Release (025-08) issued by The Government News Network on 1 April 2008

Six new probation trusts have started work today as part of the Government's drive to further reduce re-offending and increase protection for the public.

Trust status, introduced through the Offender Management Act 2007, will allow probation services more independence to focus their work on local communities and reduce re-offending while providing the same high level of service to the courts and oversight of offenders.

Minister for Justice David Hanson MP said:

"We must ensure we have the best possible systems in place to manage offenders in the community, to protect the public and reduce re-offending. For many offenders, community-based punishments are proven to be more effective at reducing re-offending than short-term prison sentences.

"Community punishments can include intensive supervision, mandatory drug or alcohol treatment, behavioural classes, and educational requirements along with physical labour. For many offenders this can require more of them than a short spell in prison. More importantly they provide the opportunity to get to the bottom of the cause of offending. Which is why I committed £40m to the Probation Service earlier this month for exactly this purpose.

"The new trusts will allow the Probation Service to use services from the public, private and voluntary sector which provide the best route to help rehabilitate and punish offenders that are the most cost effective to the tax payer.

"We will be consulting on approaches to finding the best value services in due course."

During the passage of the Offender Management Act 2007, the Government signalled the move away from a target-based regime in which probation areas had targets to sub-contract a proportion of their work. We are now moving towards a system of Best Value similar to that used by local government.

Best value was introduced into local government in April 2000, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1999. It placed local authorities under a duty to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they carried out their functions, having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Under this model, Probation Boards and Trusts will need to ensure that services are continuously improved using the provider which delivers the best value for money, whether they are from the public, private or voluntary sector.

However, as part of the Offender Management Act 2007 the provision of assistance to courts will be retained within the public sector until Parliament agrees otherwise. There is also a wider commitment to retain the management of offenders (such as supervising offenders in custody or on licence) in the public sector until 2010.

Notes to Editors

1. From the 1st April 2008, there will be established six new probation trusts operating in England and Wales: Dyfed Powys; Humberside; Leicestershire and Rutland; Merseyside; South Wales; and West Mercia. The Government will be continuing to work closely with and support these first six trusts in the year of 2008-2009 as they develop and evolve.

2. There remain 36 local probation boards that continue to operate in all other areas of England and Wales. The Government is currently assessing the performance of all the local probation boards whilst considering the implications of wider issues around efficiency and effectiveness. We will continue to learn from, and with, our first probation trusts during this time.

ENDS