JUSTICE COMMITTEE PROBATION REFORM REPORT

That this House welcomes the recent Justice Committee report on the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms; notes the Committee remains unconvinced that these reforms can ever deliver an effective or viable probation service; expresses concern that staff morale is at an all-time low, according to the report, with the Committee chair describing the probation system as a mess; believes that part-privatising the award-winning probation service in 2015, with a focus on payment by results, was a risky and expensive mistake; and calls on the Government to consult with staff unions including Napo and Unison on how to bring the whole probation service back into the public sector.