The Probation Service

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 3 October 2018.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 2:19, 3 October 2018

Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. As you're aware, in 2014, the then Tory-led UK Government decided to privatise the probation service, splitting it in two: the National Probation Service and the community rehabilitation companies, which are also here in Wales. Now, last December, we had a report from the chief inspector of the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation, Dame Glenys Stacey, which expressed deep concern over the failures of the privatisation and the chaos that existed in the system. Last week, she had another report expressing deep and grave concerns over the safety of victims of domestic abuse because of the failure of those private companies to protect those victims from their abusers.

Now, it's time, surely, that these contracts were killed now and that this whole responsibility was transferred to the Welsh Government. Do you agree with me that the UK Government needs to take action—not in 2020, two years down the line when these are going to have been failing for another two years, but now, and transfer these to the Welsh Government so that you can take the actions necessary for Welsh citizens?