The Government’s flagship prison probation reform is being ripped up — costing taxpayers £170 million

JUSTICE SECRETARY David Gauke is ripping up the Government’s flagship prison probation reform - costing taxpayers £170 million.

In a humiliation, the Cabinet Minister last night said contracts with 21 private firms supervising 155,000 low-level offenders would end two years early in 2020 because of huge losses and poor service.

To ensure the so-called Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) can continue until 2020, the Government is pouring in £170 million to prop up the system. It follows a £342 million ‘bail-out’ last year.

A bombshell report claimed releasing prisoners on a Friday was becoming a risk because there was so little support available “at the end of the week”.

And it added probation officers were often resorting to calling offenders to check up on them. The 21 contracts will be replaced by eight new private sector deals from 2020.

It’s another huge blow for the reputation of former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - who pushed through the reform despite fierce opposition three years ago.

Mr Gauke said the CRCs were facing financial pressure because they had “underbid” for the contracts three years ago.

And they had based their contracts around a steady stream of offenders on community release only to find a sharp increase in serious offenders – who are still dealt with by the Government’s National Probation Service.

Yesterday’s devastating report claimed that under the CRCs there had been a “material increase in the frequency of reoffending”.

It said the ‘through-the-gate’ service provided to lags as they leave prison was so bad, only a third of lags requiring treatment for drugs or booze were engaged in programmes.

Some £45 million will be invested in improving “through the gate” services this year and next.

The CRCs will be allowed to keep £110 million in penalty payments they should have paid to the Government – as long as they reinvest it in the service. Incredibly, the private firms will STILL be considered for eight new, regional contracts at the end of the decade.

Mr Gauke said: “This was an ambitious reform I think when you have ambitious reform, it makes sense to come back down the line and we see have we got everything right.

“The priority for me is to make sure we deliver the right rehabilitation service.”

But unions demanded the Government end the “privatisation nightmare”.

Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said the privatisation had caused an “unprecedented crisis in the system”.

“This decision to throw more good money after bad and the government’s re-commitment to a privately-run probation service shows that the Conservatives have run out of all ideas on how to fix their broken system.

“Delaying this announcement until parliament closed for the summer is a tacit admission by the Government that its probation policies can’t withstand the slightest scrutiny.”