Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 May 2026

Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to Efficiency and resilience of the probation service, 21 May 2026

Inquiry: Efficiency and resilience of the Probation Service

Summary

The Public Accounts Committee responds to the Ministry of Justice's Treasury Minute on probation service efficiency and resilience (February 2026 report). The Committee finds the government's response inadequate on four of five recommendations, citing insufficient detail on reoffending monitoring timelines, workload reduction plans, digital risk assessment processes, and staff training capacity. It requests fuller responses by 22 June 2026.

Key findings

On reoffending monitoring (recommendation two): MoJ reported implementation but evaluation plans remain under development; Committee seeks timelines and specifics on how evaluation will address reoffending impact.
On probation staff workloads (recommendation three): Response lacked detail on scale of future changes and when workloads will reach acceptable levels, particularly in London.
On digital tools and risk thresholds (recommendation four): MoJ reiterated existing risk management without explaining how it will assess readiness, set/monitor risk thresholds, or act if thresholds are breached.
On staff training capacity (recommendation five): Eight days' learning and development allowance stated, but unclear whether sufficient for all staff or achievable given current workload pressures.
Recommendation one on probation performance improvement over three years was accepted; Committee committed to monitoring outcomes.

Tone

Critical

Topics

probation-servicespublic-financeperformance-monitoringworkforce-management

Key actors

Public Accounts Committee, Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE, Comptroller and Auditor General, Treasury Officer of Accounts

Notable line

“Your response has therefore not been sufficient for us to consider this matter closed.”

Key Quotes

“However, the Committee would welcome further assurance on several areas of your response where you have stated you have implemented the recommendation but not directly addressed our concerns”
— Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP · Opening criticism of Treasury Minute response

“Your response reported recommendation two as implemented but stated that your current monitoring and evaluation plans are still being developed.”
— Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP · On reoffending monitoring adequacy

“Your response did not set out the scale of expected future changes, nor when you expect acceptable workload levels to be reached, particularly in London.”
— Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP · On staff workload reduction timelines

“Your response has therefore not been sufficient for us to consider this matter closed.”
— Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP · On digital risk assessment processes (recommendation four)

“I would be grateful if you could write back to the Committee addressing each of these points by Monday 22 June .”
— Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP · Requesting detailed follow-up response

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗