Under proposals currently out for consultation, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) wants to open to the market the management of lower risk offenders by the probation service, who are statutory members of YOTs, on a payment-by-results basis.
The government hopes the change will lead to better results and reduce reoffending but concerns have been raised that the change could destabilise YOTs.
It could mean probation trusts, of which there are 35 in England and Wales, commissioning delivery of certain strands of work to the private sector, or opting to become a competitive provider of services themselves.
Gareth Jones, vice chair of the Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (AYM), said the nature of payment-by-results means that if certain areas of work that have been commissioned fail to deliver results, entire probation services could become “unsustainable”.
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