MPs speak out in Justice Questions

There were some good interventions on the state of Probation by MPs in Justice Questions in Parliament yesterday.

Ellie Reeves (Labour Lewisham West) asked: " The recently published National Audit Office report on probation services highlighted not only the staggering additional costs of privatisation but the fact that CRCs are failing to provide even the most basic rehabilitation services. With nearly £0.5 billion-worth of bail-outs and only six out of 21 CRCs achieving significant reductions in reoffending, is it not now time to put probation back where it belongs, under public ownership and control?" READ IN FULL

Richard Burgon (Labour Leeds) on Failing Grayling: " efore wreaking havoc in the Department for Transport, the Secretary of State for Transport was busy wreaking havoc in our justice system. He unleashed a crisis in our prisons and then he privatised probation, leaving the public less safe and costing the public hundreds of millions more than necessary. The world’s media are treating the Transport Secretary as a laughing stock, but the joke is on us because this Government are set to repeat past errors by signing a new round of private probation contracts. When will the Justice Secretary do the decent thing and put an end to the failed experiment of a privatised probation system? " READ IN FULL

Ian Lucas (Labour Wrexham): " What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of probation reforms since 2015."  READ IN FULL

Alex Cunningham (Stockton North): "Both the prisons Minister and the Secretary of State have heaped praise on the Durham Tees Valley community rehabilitation company when I have asked about the not-for-profit organisation’s future, but will the Minister tell me whether it will survive the next round of reforms or be swallowed up and privatised with the rest of them?" READ IN FULL