Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 January 2026 · HC 702
Letter to and from HM Inspectorate of Probation, following the 3 December evidence session on Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation in Wales, dated 8 & 22 December 2025
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Summary
Correspondence between Welsh Affairs Committee Chair Ruth Jones MP and Martin Jones CBE, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, following a 3 December 2025 evidence session. The committee sought clarification on probation governance reform, prison-probation service separation, co-location of services, and examples of effective joined-up practice in Wales. The inspectorate's response includes detailed examples of innovation in Wales probation services, including Human Factors learning approaches, AI-powered administrative tools, and the CORRE Hub referral system.
Key findings
- HM Chief Inspector supports devolution of probation control to local level to ensure decision-making closer to communities, citing Greater Manchester as a promising model with better integration benefits.
- Inspector expresses concern that unifying prisons and probation could cause probation's work (244,000 caseload) to be overshadowed by prison crises, and advocates exploring clearer separation.
- Wales Probation Service has implemented Human Factors model (2022) using SBAR communication tools, protected reflection time, and team briefings to reduce bias, improve decision-making, and strengthen staff wellbeing.
- AI pilot 'Minute' tool in Wales reduced administrative tasks by 73%, with 96% of practitioners reporting improved record quality and 83% noting better engagement with people on probation.
- CORRE Hub in Wales processed 8,122 CRS referrals in 2024 at 50% faster than national average; 77% of reviewed cases had plans sufficiently focused on reducing reoffending.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Ruth Jones MP, Martin Jones CBE, HM Inspectorate of Probation, Welsh Affairs Committee, Probation Service Wales, University of South Wales, Greater Manchester probation services
Notable line
“There is good evidence that change has a detrimental impact on organisations and we need to ensure that any further change is carefully thought through to ensure the service …”
Key Quotes
“… my assessment is that there is a strong case for devolution of control of probation to a local level to ensure decision making is closer to the communities they serve.”
“… the vital work of probation, which has a caseload of 244,000, nearly three times the number of people in prison, can at times get lost given the potential for crises within our prisons and its finite capacity.”
“There is good evidence that change has a detrimental impact on organisations and we need to ensure that any further change is carefully thought through to ensure the service can cope.”
“Tasks that previously took two hours were completed in 30 minutes, with the time spent on writing contact logs reduced by an average of 73 per cent.”
“During inspection, 77 per cent of reviewed cases had plans that focused sufficiently on reducing reoffending and supporting desistance, with some PDUs achieving even higher levels of sufficiency.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗