World leading probation pilots announced
A revolutionary approach to managing offenders on community sentences to cut re-offending will be trialled by two Probation Trusts.
Staffordshire & West Midlands and Wales Probation Trusts have been chosen to run the two pilots which are part of the government’s world-leading Payment by Results (PbR) programme.
The Trusts will seek to build innovative partnerships with the private and voluntary sector to help deliver frontline services across their communities for up to 2000 offenders. They will now be working closely with the Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to finalise the exact details of their approach.
Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said:
‘I’m delighted with the Probation Trusts’ enthusiasm to help develop our cutting edge Payment by Results policy.
‘These ground-breaking pilots will for the first time test how real freedom to innovate, alongside strong public, private and voluntary sector partnerships, could drive significant reductions in reoffending by those serving community sentences.’
The four-year pilots, beginning in 2013, will allow us to test how current public sector providers can engage with the PbR approach. In the Breaking the Cycle Green Paper, we said that we will apply the principles of PbR to all providers by 2015.
The pilots will test a new risk transfer model, where the Trusts form an innovative commercial partnership with an external provider to deliver services. This new delivery organisation will be rewarded if it achieves a reduction in reoffending, and will bear the risk of non-payment should it fail to meet its targets
By focusing on outcomes, the schemes will encourage providers to target their efforts where they can achieve the greatest success and encourage professional discretion in the management of offenders.
Notes for editors:
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View further details on the Ministry of Justice Payment by Results pilots.
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For further details on the Ministry of Justice’s ‘Breaking the Cycle’ Green Paper.
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For more information on the Probation pilots and other Payment by Results pilots please contact the Ministry of Justice Press Office - Hugo Biggs - 020 3334 3514.