Gateshead and South Tyneside Probation Delivery Unit ‘Requires improvement’

Gateshead and South Tyneside Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) has received an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.

The service was last inspected in 2022, when it was given a rating of ‘Good’.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “The staff at Gateshead and South Tyneside PDU were motivated to do what is best for people on probation and it was encouraging to see staff listening to and acting upon the voices of those being supervised. Unfortunately, we saw a decline in the quality of some of the work undertaken since our last inspection, resulting in an overall rating of ‘Requires improvement.”

Inspectors had concerns over work being done to keep people safe, with practitioners not always acting on new information relating to risk; for example, further offending or disclosures made by individuals.

There was insufficient information sharing with partner agencies, including social services and police, and this information was not explored fully to protect potential and actual victims from harm.

While practitioners’ workloads were found to be reasonable, middle managers had a wide range of responsibilities which were sometimes pulling focus away from providing effective management and case supervision.

Mr Jones continued: “The PDU will be disappointed with the overall outcome of this inspection; however, with the appropriate attention, it can make the necessary improvements needed to deliver high-quality work to keep people safe from harm”. The report makes six recommendations, including to ensure middle managers have enough capacity to provide the appropriate level of oversight, and to make arrangements with police and children’s services to ensure information sharing is sufficient.

The report is available at https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk