18 Dec 2014 10:38
News Release
18th December 2014
Interserve-led partnership, Purple Futures, named as new provider of probation and rehabilitation services by Ministry of Justice
· New partnership to manage services for up to 25 per cent of low- to medium risk ex-offenders in England and Wales for seven years
· Collective contract values worth circa £600 million over seven years
· Rehabilitation services to be expanded and new 'through-the-gate' support provided for offenders on short-term sentences
· Purple Futures pledges to support offenders towards achieving 'stable lives'
· Partnership pledges investment in new training systems and processes to safeguard public protection
The Purple Futures partnership, a new partnership of private sector, charities and social enterprise, will be providing probation and rehabilitation services in five areas of the UK from February 2015, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed today.
Purple Futures, led by Interserve, the UK-based FTSE-listed support services and public services company, together with the charities Addaction, Shelter and P3, and the social enterprise 3SC, will manage services in Greater Manchester & Cheshire; Merseyside; West Yorkshire; North Yorkshire, Humberside & Lincolnshire and Hampshire, which together account for over 40,000 offenders each year.
From 1 February, the partnership will assume legal ownership of five Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), and the management of around 2,000 probation service personnel. It will deliver probation and rehabilitation services for the majority of offenders, however, high-risk cases will remain under the jurisdiction of the National Probation Service.
The services form part of the MoJ's Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) programme, and will for the first time see business working with local specialist and voluntary groups to provide support to offenders, to improve their life chances on release and reduce reoffending rates.
Yvonne Thomas, Managing Director of Justice at Interserve, lead partner of Purple Futures, said:
"We recognise that offenders have the potential to change - and we will work together to help them realise this, while delivering their sentences. We will provide opportunities to reform for all - but always with the safety of both the public and our staff as our priority.
"We are confident in our plans and keen to start by working with our new colleagues. We understand that the past months have been a period of anxiety for many. However, we will be acquiring a very stable operation from the probation service and we have a unique opportunity to build an integrated approach to the rehabilitation of offenders. The inclusion in scope of offenders serving under 12 months and a resettlement service that focuses on reintegration into the community are exciting new opportunities for us to work together to support offenders in their journey towards stable lives."
From 1 February, a number of new initiatives will be implemented by the partnership:
· Investment in new training, systems and processes to ensure that public protection remains the top priority, with probation specialists trained in public protection. Rehabilitation services will be expanded and refreshed.
· A 'through-the-gate' service to prisoners. Purple Futures will also manage offenders on licence and post sentence supervision. This will include those on sentences under 12 months, who previously fell outside the remit of the probation service.
· Purple Futures will deliver the sentence of the court, and in particular the new rehabilitation activity requirement sentence (as required under the new Offender Rehabilitation Act), using this opportunity to work with offenders to address the causes of offending.
· A 48-hour 'intensive service' will be provided for the most vulnerable prisoners to support them on release, including a person to meet them on release, accommodation and specialist support for those mental health issues or with drug or alcohol addiction.
· The creation of job opportunities for ex-offenders, including by working with them to set up social enterprises.
Ends
For further information please contact:
Rhys Jones, Group PR Manager, Interserve: Tel: 0118 932 0123
Michael Kinirons, Capital MSL: Tel: 020 3219 8816
Email: press.office@interserve.com
Notes to Editors
1. For interviews with Yvonne Thomas and spokespeople from the partnership, please contact the Press Office for further information.
2. For more information about the Transforming Rehabilitation programme, visit: www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation
3. As part of the MoJ's proposals, 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were established in June 2014 to provide probation services to medium- and low-risk offenders. In addition a new National Probation Service under the Ministry of Justice will retain management of the most high-risk offenders in society.
4. For more information about Purple Futures, visit http://www.purplefutures.co.uk
Purple Futures partnership
Interserve
Interserve is one of the world's foremost support services and construction companies. Our vision is to redefine the future for people and places. Everything we do is shaped by our core values. We are a successful, growing, international business: a leader in innovative and sustainable outcomes for our clients and a great place to work for our people. We offer advice, design, construction, equipment, facilities management and frontline public services. We are headquartered in the UK and listed in the FTSE 250 index. We have gross revenues of £3.4 billion and a workforce of over 80,000 people worldwide.
Website: www.interserve.com Twitter: @interservenews
Shelter
Last year Shelter helped more than 4 million people struggling with homelessness or bad housing - and we campaign to prevent it in the first place. We're here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own. Further information can be found at: www.shelter.org.uk
3SC
3SC wins and manages public services contracts on behalf of third sector organisations. Using a consortium model, we manage the bidding process and build supply chains of local organisations, allowing smaller third sector providers to compete for, and deliver large public sector contracts. Our members include charities, social enterprises, and voluntary and community groups representing a diversity of specialisms, including employability, skills, housing, criminal justice, health, and social care. 3SC acts as an enabler for the third sector. We work in collaboration with our members to promote best practice, create and implement innovative solutions, and shape and design high quality services that reflect the changing needs of communities and commissioners.
Further information can be found at: www.3sc.org
Addaction
Addaction is a UK charity which helps people and communities to overcome the effects of drug and alcohol misuse. For nearly 50 years we've been providing support to individuals and families. We run 117 services in 80 locations across England and Scotland, helping around 48,000 people every year to overcome addiction. Addaction's purpose is to deliver services that make a real difference to people and communities blighted by substance misuse. We do this through education and prevention initiatives, needle and syringe exchange programmes, recovery-orientated community prescribing, mutual aid programmes, group interventions and residential rehabilitation.
Addaction recognises that it cannot meet each of the varied needs of our services users in isolation, so we put significant effort into building partnerships with other organisations. We work closely with GPs on shared care schemes and the criminal justice system through Drug Intervention Programmes and community-based rehabilitation to create pathways for service users into, through and out of treatment into sustainable recovery. Further information can be found at: http://www.addaction.org.uk
P3
We're a charity and social enterprise, made up of passionate people, who care about people. We run a variety of services all over the UK that aim to give everyone the chance to be part of the community they live in and feel connected to society. We think that everyone is unique and with support and confidence, can unlock their potential within, opening up a world of possibilities.
Our mission is to improve lives and communities by delivering services for socially excluded and vulnerable people to unlock their potential and open up new possibilities. Our vision is that every person has the opportunity to be a full and valued member of a society where social exclusion and isolation no longer exist. It's that simple! Further information can be found at: http://www.p3charity.org