Value for Money
Improving resettlement support for prison leavers to reduce reoffending
Published 12 May 2023
6 recommendations
Ministry of Justice
Crime, justice and lawPrisons and probation
nao.org.uk
The government is not consistently supporting prison leavers in resettling into the community and the quality of services has declined in recent years, a report by the National Audit Office has found.
Recommendations (6)
Source: NAO Recommendations Tracker · PAC follow-up below
Ministry of Justice
Rec 1
Accepted
Work in Progress
To evidence the impact of its Commissioned Rehabilitative Services, HMPPS should consider implementing a revised approach to its future set of contracts so that it enables providers to systematically report on outcomes achieved for offenders. Where appropriate, HMPPS should verify providers? reporting on outcomes achieved for offenders through validating supporting evidence.
Ministry of Justice
Rec 2
Accepted
Implemented
To improve accountability, government bodies on the Board with primary responsibility for improving prison leavers' accommodation, employment and substance misuse treatment outcomes ? MoJ, HMPPS, DWP, NHSE, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the Department of Health & Social Care ? should engage with relevant stakeholders and publish a report in early 2024-25 setting out:
? clear roles and responsibilities in the resettlement system across government departments, including governance and oversight arrangements;
? interdependencies between departments? work;
? their consideration of developing shared performance measures between departments to embed stronger incentives for improvement; and
? progress on improving coordination and resolving barriers to collecting and sharing data.
HM Prison and Probation Service; Ministry of Justice
Rec 3
Accepted
Implemented
By November 2023, MoJ and HMPPS should finalise evaluation plans for HMPPS's initiatives to improve prison leavers? access to employment. Where feasible, they should commit to comparing outcomes with control groups and use data and intelligence on trends in local and regional labour markets to isolate the impact of its initiatives.
Ministry of Justice
Rec 4
Accepted
Implemented
By April 2025, HMPPS should complete analysis to understand the causes of variation in resettlement outcomes for prison leavers across different demographic groups and areas of the country. It should use this analysis to inform future changes to resettlement services.
Department for Work and Pensions; HM Prison and Probation Service
Rec 5
Accepted
Implemented
By April 2024, HMPPS and DWP should complete analysis to understand overlaps and gaps in services using high-quality data on what support its local staff are providing to prison leavers. They should use this information to provide assurance that government?s delivery of employment, training and benefits support services do not unnecessarily overlap and exploit opportunities to achieve savings.
HM Prison and Probation Service; Ministry of Justice
Rec 6
Accepted
Work in Progress
Commencing by November 2023, MoJ and HMPPS should develop a long-term strategy to manage increased demand for resettlement services. This should be informed by their understanding of local prison- and community-based probation teams' capacity to accommodate higher caseloads. HMPPS should use this information to identify which areas of resettlement activity could be de-prioritised, streamlined or re-sequenced.
Parliamentary Committee Follow-Up
The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.
Seventy-Eighth Report - Resettlement support for prison leavers
Public Accounts Committee
· 11 November 2023
· 15 recommendations