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

“Struggling” East and West Lincolnshire Probation Delivery Unit rated ‘Inadequate’

Published:

East and West Lincolnshire PDU has received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Despite a positive and supportive teamwork culture, we found regional and local governance arrangements to be driving staff and managers to prioritise performance targets over delivering a quality service. Unfortunately, the quality of work delivered to manage risk of harm was insufficient, which resulted in an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’.”

Inspectors were concerned with the “worrying” lack of attention paid to keeping people safe in assessments, due to practitioners’ insufficient analysis of domestic abuse and safeguarding information. Service delivery to keep people safe was also poor, with insufficient attention given to protecting actual and potential victims from the risk of potential harm posed by people on probation. 

The report also highlights the geographical difficulties facing East and West Lincolnshire PDU, which covers a vast, rural area. Some people on probation were traveling long distances to attend appointments, and managers struggled to maintain sufficient visibility across the PDU.

Mr Jones continued: “I hope that the findings of this will afford East and West Lincolnshire some much-needed regional and national support to overcome the challenges associated with the PDU’s geography. Leaders also need to prioritise ensuring their practitioners understand their responsibilities and ensure management oversight develops reflective practice and professional curiosity.”

The report makes six recommendations, including to conduct a learning analysis to understand the skills and knowledge of the practitioner group and to analyse information on domestic abuse and child safeguarding sufficiently to inform the quality of assessment and management of people on probation.

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 09 June 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