Consultation on our inspection framework and programmes 2021–2022
Under the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2006 we are required to consult each year on our inspection framework and programmes.
While the requirement only applies to consultation with ministers and other Chief Inspectors, we have expanded this, as in previous years, to include those we inspect and other interested parties.
At the time of writing, Covid-19 continues to have a significant impact on the delivery of both probation and youth justice services and has required us to review our inspection approach to accommodate. After a short halt to our inspection activity, all our inspections, since March 2020, have been delivered remotely. We also shifted our focus from core inspections to thematic reviews
to maintain our crucial public assurance role while being mindful that rating services during the early days of this exceptional period would have added little value.
The proposals set out in this document assume that some of our early activity in 2021–2022 will continue to be delivered remotely, at least in part, but that we will be able to return to some on-site delivery as we move further into the financial year.