About Transforming Rehabilitation

About Transforming Rehabilitation

In “Transforming Rehabilitation: A Strategy for Reform”, the Secretary of State for Justice set out plans to introduce a new system for the management and rehabilitation of offenders in the community across England and Wales.

Broadly speaking the reforms comprise:

• the opening up of the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, incentivised through payment by results to reduce reoffending;

• a new public sector National Probation Service (NPS) which will be part of National Offender Management Service (NOMS);

• the extension of supervision after release to nearly all offenders leaving custody; and

• a new “through the prison gate” resettlement service across England and Wales.

This will lead to significant change for us.Rest assured that during this process our work with offenders, victims, partners, other criminal justice agencies, will continue. We our proud of our performance and our ability to help keep the public safe from crime, and will continue our good work throughout this time of change.

To help you understand what is going on, we have put together this Frequently Asked Questions document. We will let you have more detail as The Transforming Rehabilitation programme continues to change and develop.

What’s happening? What will the new service look like?

New National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies

The Government is planning a new National Probation Service, together with 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies.

The local Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) will include the existing Trusts of Dorset, and Devon and Cornwall. The plan anticipates that during April to October 2014 there will be a competition to take ownership of the Community Rehabilitation Company. The winning bidder will run the service for the length of the contract. The timetable for this activity is provisional at this stage.

What will the National Probation Service (NPS)look like?

The core functions of the new public sector probation service are to:

• Case manage and supervise those offenders who are:

-assessed at the outset as requiring management under Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA);

-not managed under MAPPA but nevertheless assessed at the outset as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public;

-assessed at the outset as requiring management under MAPPA or posing a high risk of serious harm, but in which cases risk subsequently is assessed as decreasing;

-(in exceptional circumstances) not managed under MAPPA and do not pose a high risk of serious harm to the public, but there is exceptional public interest or concern;

-transferred back to the public sector due to risk escalation (see below).

• Manage Approved Premises.
• Manage the Victim Liaison service.

• Carry out an initial case allocation assessment of all cases and provide advice to court on sentencing in all cases. It will also continue to advise the parole board on release decisions.
• Decide on action in relation to all potential breaches (based on breach information packs prepared by contracted providers as necessary), and will advise the courts or Secretary of State on sanctions or recall to custody.
• Respond to requests for advice, within clearly defined parameters, from contracted providers on potential escalation of risk, and be the ultimate decision-maker on action to be taken as a result of risk escalation (including future case management responsibilities with respect to management of risk of harm to the public).
• Undertake the statutory victim liaison role for all cases to which it applies (offenders sentenced to over 12 months for a violent or sexual offence). The public probation service will also, at least initially, retain responsibility for those Approved Premises it currently manages.

A new, more specialised Public Sector service, with a public protection, public interest focus.

This new service, still in the Public Sector, will have a more specialised function. It will have a tight focus on public interest decisions and protection issues. The aim of the structure of the new service is effective, cost efficient delivery of the new functions. Local Delivery Units will be based on Local Authority boundaries, and align with Police boundaries. We will work closely with existing local partners, and align to existing structures – such as court boundaries - wherever possible.

We will target the work we do to meet community need and maintain public confidence.

150 Local Units

There will be approximately 150 local units within the structure. This allows for appropriate alignment with local authority areas, and ‘map up’ to larger local partnership arrangements. At this level public sector staff will service all courts with advice on sentencing based on an assessment of risk of harm and risk of reoffending.

The units will case manage and supervise offenders falling within the public sector caseload, resource the reassessment of cases referred to them by the contracted providers, and ensure that public sector local adult and child safeguarding responsibilities are discharged.

The new public sector caseload will be smaller than now, and many of the 150 local units too small to warrant a dedicated senior manager, so more senior staff will be deployed across Local Delivery Units in “clusters.”

Each Local Authority will have a named senior manager as the contact point. At senior level, the structure will align with the 42 Police Force boundaries and each Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner will have a named senior manager as their point of contact. At this level the public sector will ensure that Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) responsibilities are discharged, and MAPPA panels are properly managed.

What will Community Rehabilitation Companies look like and do?

The new ‘Community Rehabilitation Companies’ CRCs (previously referred to as NewCos, GovCos or GoCos), will deliver services due to be put out to tender under the proposals set out in Transforming Rehabilitation – A Strategy for Reform.

Like the proposed contract package area boundaries, there will be 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. (CRC’s). Each covers a geographic area of between 1 and 4 current probation Trusts (12 cover one Trust area, 5 cover 2, 3 cover 3 and 1 area covers 4). These boundaries are set out in the diagram below:

Community Rehabilitation Companies will be designed as transitional structures – to enable safe and effective operational delivery. In practice, this means minimal change from existing delivery structures in the short term, focussing on changes needed to effect the establishment of the new organisations. They will operate as operationalgoing concerns for the purposes of procurement – i.e. a fully functioning business, with defined assets and delivery responsibilities. They will be designed, as far as possible, to align with new public sector structures, to provide clear lines of communication between the two organisations during the transition period.

Community Rehabilitation Companies will provide the remainder of services currently delivered by existing Probation Trusts. Additionally the CRCs will have a primary responsibility for delivery of the post release supervision of those offenders serving sentences of less than 12 months which is to be introduced by way of legislation currently before Parliament.

Where and how will Youth Offending Team cases transition to the new arrangements?

Youth Offending Team Probation staff will transfer to the NPS. Case transition is something still to be determined.

How will the Ministry of Justice ensure that bidding organisations are checked for quality and reputation during the procurement process, and ongoing, once the service has been contracted out?

The Ministry of Justice has outlined that they will award contracts based on quality and price. Once contracts have been let, they will be closely managed and monitored for performance. The Government will retain a '20% golden share' in the Community Rehabilitation Companies. This will allow them to intervene if the new provider is failing, if necessary, returning them to public ownership until a new provider can be found. The majority of staff in the Community Rehabilitation Companies - at least initially - will be staff from the existing Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Probation Trusts who will take their own values and high standards of service with them. The requirement to manage offenders will remain. Staff will work in ‘different’ ways, to enhance efficiencies where possible.

How will payment by results (PbR) work in practice?

Payment by Results will be linked to success, and will act as an incentive for providers to focus on all offenders, including the most prolific and hardest to help, and will ensure that they are not able to go for the ‘easy wins’ only.

Risk Assessment Systems

Although the new providers will not be obliged to use the Offender Assessment System tool (OASys) currently used by Probation, they will have to show evidence of what risk assessment systems and processes they intend to use instead.

What’s happening to Dorset Probation Trust Staff? Who will go where? When will people know who is in which organisation?

The Trust is working hard to continue to support staff through this time of change, and to prepare them for the future. The Probation Association and the recognised Probation Trade Unions will be involved in discussions to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place.

It is proposed to allocate probation staff to either the new National Probation Service, or the Community Rehabilitation Company in the Autumn of 2013, following a period of consultation that concludes on 21st October 2013. Meanwhile, Dorset Probation Trust will continue its’ normal high level of service to manage community sentences ordered by the Courts. Staff will remain in our current office locations up to the completion of the competition process.

Will partnership working continue?

The Ministry of Justice, has made it clear that they expect providers of the new services to continue to build strong local partnerships in order to achieve the best outcomes for offenders, victims and the public. It will be in providers’ interests to work with other partners to achieve the best results in reducing reoffending.

The Ministry of Justice, has indicated that they will include, as part of the formal evaluation of bids, a requirement that providers evidence how they would sustain and develop local networks and partnerships, including Integrated Offender Management (IOM). Effective partnership working is crucial for protecting the public and reducing reoffending, and so partnership working should continue. We will concentrate our resources in areas which have most impact.

We anticipate holding provider forums to engage with current, past and potential providers on the changes arising from Transforming Rehabilitation.

Is Dorset Probation Trust looking to develop an alternative delivery model in the future?

Neither Dorset nor Devon and Cornwall Probation Trust can bid for future rehabilitation work on their own as a prime provider. We do not have the considerable working capital or finance that would be needed for such a venture. With the support of the Trust Board, however, some staff are having discussions with a number of partners to create a joint venture and mutual company to be a prime bidder in any future competition to deliver rehabilitative services. On 19th September the MoJ commenced the first stage (PQQ) of its competition proposals. This also required tier 2 & 3 subcontractors to register an interest by the 30th October 2013. Details of this process can be found on the MoJ website:

If you would like to know more about the mutual/joint venture please contact the team via:

Throughout this change process we will continue to work with our partners and others to manage Community Sentences ordered by the Courts, to reduce reoffending and keep Communities safe from harm.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, email our Chief Executive,John Wiseman, on:

Chief Executive: John Wiseman

Dorset Probation Trust, 63 Commercial Road, Poole, BH14 0JB

Tel: 01202 307277; FAX: 01202 307297

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