Along with the other Community Rehabilitation Company providers, Interserve has been involved in discussions with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for sometime in order to improve how the national CRC contracts work for both parties.

Ian Mulholland (pictured above), Interserve’s Managing Director (public sector) leads Interserve’s justice business, which includes five CRCs.

He said: “The Government outlined its plans last Friday (27/7/18) and announced the start of a consultation process in which they are inviting feedback, and which closes on September 21st. Until that point, these are just proposals, but the proposals represent a positive step.

“In short, the Government, in agreement with the providers, proposes to reduce the contract length and have in place new CRC contracts by the end of 2020. The proposals also include exciting developments with regard to our Through the Gate provision, and a renewed focus on the importance of face-to-face contact with our service users – both of which we welcome. The consultation document outlines the vision for the shape of probation delivery post-2020.

“I believe the announcement will put us on a firmer footing as we look to build on the excellent work that we have achieved since the CRCs were launched in June, 2014. We are committed to the delivery of probation services and I am looking forward to the chance to compete for the new contracts.

“During the last four years we have invested a significant amount of money in modernising IT equipment, have developed new ways of working such as the Interchange Model and later on this year will be rolling out Interlink, our new Case Management System. I believe we are laying firm foundations on which to build a hugely successful rehabilitation organisation.”

Updates about the consultation will appear on our CRC websites in due course.