Skip to content

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated.

To view this licence, visit:
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3

or write to:
Information Policy Team,
The National Archives,
Kew,
London TW9 4DU

or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

This publication is available at:
https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.

© Crown copyright

“Considerable challenges remain” as Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PDU rated ‘Inadequate’

Published:

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PDU have received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’. This is the second inspection of this PDU since being established under the unification of probation services in 2021, having previously been rated ‘Inadequate’ in 2022.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland PDU has undergone a period of significant challenge with high staff turnover and elevated sickness rates among practitioners. The challenges faced by PDUs nationally relating to early prison releases has also impacted the quality of work delivered by this service. While some positive progress has been made in the last six months, considerable challenges remain.”

While analysis of desistance factors was found to be sufficient in most cases, information relating to safeguarding and police information was not always utilised to its full potential. Practitioners failed to consider information from other agencies in their planning activities in half of the relevant cases in this inspection, creating a missed opportunity to have a more rounded picture of potential risk factors of the person on probation, and to protect the public.

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PDU benefited from well-established partnerships, at a strategic and operational level, which provided opportunities to support practitioners and improve outcomes for people on probation. Despite this, the opportunities were not always available for those under supervision, particularly for those who would benefit from behavioural support.

Mr Jones continued: “The leadership team have the respect and support of middle managers and frontline staff and have worked hard to create a cohesive culture at their PDU. This strength in leadership has not yet translated into an improvement in casework, but there are encouraging signs of improvement which should lead to better outcomes in the future.”

The report makes six recommendations, including to improve the quality of work to assess, plan for, manage, and review risk of harm and to conduct a learning analysis to understand the skills and knowledge of the practitioner group and implement a system to ensure gaps in learning are met.

ENDS

Notes to editor

  1. Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
  2. The report is available at https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/ on 29 May 2025.
  3. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales. 
  4. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
  5. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in March 2025
  6. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk