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North Tyneside and Northumberland Probation Delivery Unit “well placed to make necessary improvements”

Published:

North Tyneside and Northumberland Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) has received an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “We saw evidence of effective leadership and a positive organisational culture at North Tyneside and Northumberland PDU and, encouragingly, we also found several examples of effective practice within case inspections. However, work to keep people safe was found to be insufficient, and the services available for people on probation to support desistance were underutilised leading to an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’.”

Inspectors noted a clear commitment to staff development and wellbeing at the PDU, with practitioners speaking highly about their jobs and the support received from managers and peers. Workloads were improving and, while there was a 30 per cent vacancy rate at probation officer grade, a strategic focus on the retention of trainee probation officers was improving the staffing picture.

Insufficient attention was given to emerging risk issues and risk to actual and potential victims. Arrangements for obtaining high-quality domestic abuse and child safeguarding information from the police and children’s services were found to be ineffective which undermined the quality of public protection work and had a detrimental impact on planning to keep people safe.

Mr Jones continued: “With an onward focus on risk and public protection, North Tyneside and Northumberland PDU – with their strengths in staffing and leadership – are well placed to make the necessary improvements to help people on probation transform their lives.”

The report makes six recommendations, including to ensure middle managers have enough time and capacity to provide the appropriate level of oversight, and to make arrangements with police and children’s services to ensure information sharing is sufficient.

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 24 July 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 May 2025
  6. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk