This consultation is aimed at organisations and individuals with an interest in probation, youth justice, approved premises, and criminal justice services in England and Wales. This includes inspected organisations, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), youth justice services, approved premises, local authorities, criminal justice partners, inspectorates and regulators, voluntary and community sector organisations, academics, people with lived experience, victims’ groups, HM Inspectorate of Probation staff, and members of the public.
In this consultation we are asking for your views on two phases of our work. The first is our proposed standards for inspection of probation delivery units (PDUs). Our aim is to remain focused on the things that make a difference to the quality of probation work, aligning strategic activity with frontline delivery to people on probation. We have reduced the number of standards that we base our judgements on and have consolidated the areas that sit beneath the standards. Our standard-level ratings will continue to follow our established four-point scale, and we will continue to publish these. We are proposing to move away from giving overall ratings to PDUs.
In August 2024 we consulted with stakeholders about our proposals for inspecting probation services following the operational changes arising from ‘Probation Reset’.
In this consultation, we are asking for your views on our proposed standards for a national probation inspection, as well as how we rate the evidence that we see against the standards.
In this consultation, we are asking for your views on our proposals, with the aim of continuing our focus on engagement, desistance, and keeping people safe.
