Bradford and Calderdale 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 Bradford and Calderdale PDU since it was established under the unification of probation services in 2021.

During this inspection, inspectors observed an openly divisive culture between staff who had joined the service pre- and post-unification. Staff morale was low, impacting sickness levels which were high across all staffing grades, and hampering the PDU’s ability to deliver high-quality casework to people on probation.

Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Bradford and Calderdale PDU is operating in a chaotic state and staff are finding it to be an increasingly difficult place to work. Leaders need to take urgent action to ensure the PDU can deliver better results for staff and people on probation, and protect the local community.”

The inspection found work to keep others safe to be poor and improvements needed to be made to protect actual and potential victims from harm. Efforts to involve other agencies to minimise this risk were also poorly coordinated, with missed opportunities for key services to have input to assist in keeping people safe. Safeguarding information was received too infrequently and, when it was received, was not being used to sufficiently inform risk assessments.

Mr Jones continued: “It will be a sizeable task to get Bradford and Calderdale PDU to where it needs to be, and they will need support from beyond the PDU to achieve this.”

The report makes seven recommendations, including to improve the culture across the PDU, to address divisions between teams, and to improve the quality of work to assess, plan for, and manage risk of harm.

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. This was the first inspection of Bradford and Calderdale PDU since it was created in June 2021.
2. 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.
3. Bradford and Calderdale PDU is one of 11 PDUs in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the Probation Service.
4. The report is available at gov.uk/hmiprobation on 14 November.
5. HM Inspectorate of Probation is the independent inspector of youth justice and probation services across England and Wales.
6. 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.
7. Fieldwork for this inspection took place in September 2024.
8. For media enquiries, please contact Louise Cordell, Head of Communications 07523 805224 / media@hmiprobation.gov.uk (E-mail address)