“Major shortfalls” found in national arrangements of the Probation Service

These national arrangements have a crucial role in enabling successful outcomes in frontline probation work and, while there were some strengths in the work inspected, the report has highlighted significant areas for improvement.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “This inspection has come at a time of broader review for the criminal justice system, and unfortunately our findings do not demonstrate that the Service is adequately prepared to respond effectively to further change and challenge. Major shortfalls were found in service delivery and work to keep people safe remains a significant cause for concern.”

National arrangements for the provision of services were rated ‘Inadequate’. They were not meeting the needs of regions or the people on probation they managed, and inspectors were not assured that public protection and reducing reoffending were central to the commissioning and delivery of services. This was reflected in case inspection findings, where implementation and delivery of services sufficiently supported desistance in just 32 per cent of cases, and contributed effectively to keeping people safe in just 18 per cent of cases.

The overall vision for probation was not underpinned by a current business plan, and the strategic approach, Target Operating Model for Probation Services, had not been updated since the unification of services in 2021. Inspectors found accountability lines for performance and the quality of delivery were unclear, and national governance structures were failing to improve sentence management quality, particularly regarding public protection.

Mr Jones continued: “Stronger leadership is needed to improve the delivery of the probation service’s two key objectives: protecting the public and reducing reoffending. These should be seen as complimentary and embedded across all delivery outcomes, and we did not see this cohesion at a national level.”

The report highlights modest improvements in recruitment and staffing levels, with some action taking place to reduce workloads and create space for practitioners to develop knowledge and skills. However, progress remained slow, with a continued high shortfall of probation officers in some regions. In addition, opportunities for newly qualified and trained staff to implement learning were still often undermined by high workloads and few experienced staff to support them.

Some strengths were observed in relation to information and communication technology; however, this had not resulted in sufficient improvement in systems used by frontline staff. In addition, significant and prolonged underinvestment in both the probation estate and ICT presented a complex and challenging context for national leaders and their teams.

Mr Jones added: “Much has been achieved by HMPPS in recent years amidst many challenges, but the improvement to service delivery on the ground remains insufficient. There will need to be further changes to improve the quality of services to reduce reoffending and protect the public. This will mean there need to be difficult decisions about what is done, with whom, to ensure those most at risk of further offending and causing serious harm are managed sufficiently.”

The report makes eight recommendations to HMPPS, including to produce a coherent business plan, to ensure significant risks to probation service delivery are identified and acted upon, to provide regional leaders with greater discretion to commission and contract-manage organisations that meet the needs of people on probation, and to develop digital systems that enable practitioners to access, plan, deliver, and record their work in a timely way.

ENDS

Notes to editor

• 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.
• The report is available at https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/ on 29 April 2025.
• HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales. 
• The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. For this inspection, the Inspectorate rated four individual inspection standards – ‘Leadership’, ‘Staffing’, ‘Services’ and ‘Infrastructure and ICT’ – in addition to an overall rating.
• Fieldwork for this inspection took place in between December 2024 and February 2025. 165 cases were inspected across all 12 probation regions in England and Wales, and 66 meetings and focus groups were held with national, area, and regional leaders.
• For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk