“A significant number of deficits” found at ‘Inadequate’ Barnsley and Rotherham PDU – inspection finds

Barnsley and Rotherham Probation Delivery Unit (PDU) has received an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ following an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. This is the first inspection of this PDU since it was established under the unification of probation services in 2021.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Disappointingly, we found a significant   number of deficits at Barnsley and Rotherham PDU which were exacerbated by extremely high sickness levels across all staff groups. Whilst the leadership had steered the PDU to a more stable position, the quality of work to manage people on probation and to keep people safe was disappointingly insufficient.”

The inspection found the quality of work to assess and manage risk in the community to be inadequate and although, reassuringly, information on domestic abuse and child safeguarding was routinely requested, it was sometimes not received and, where it was, it was not used often enough to adequately inform risk assessments.

Inspectors were impressed with the services available at Barnsley and Rotherham PDU, with effective drug and alcohol services for people on probation and an assistant psychologist co-located at the Barnsley office for up to four days a week. The offer for women was also extensive and impressive, with a weekly women’s group, a sexual health clinic and both the Barnsley and Rotherham offices having women-only reporting times to support their needs.

Mr Jones continued: “I know Barnsley and Rotherham PDU will be disappointed with the overall outcome of this inspection, but their encouraging work with women shows that if they act on the recommendations in this report, they potentially have the tools at their disposal to make the improvements required to deliver an effective service.”

The report makes five recommendations, including to recruit a deputy head of service to reduce the workloads of senior leaders and to analyse information on domestic abuse and child safeguarding to adequately inform the quality of assessment.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. Probation Delivery Units (PDUs) replaced Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS), which merged into a unified Probation Service in June 2021.
2. Barnsley and Rotherham PDU is one of 11 PDUs in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the Probation Service.
3. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation on 10 October 2024.
4. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
5. The Inspectorate uses a four-point scale: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. The Inspectorate rates specific aspects of each service and also gives an overall rating.
6. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in July 2024.
7. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)