Probation services are a key part of the criminal justice system.
They are overseen by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), which is an executive agency within the Ministry of Justice.
Probation services are responsible for:
- Advising courts on sentencing decisions
- Supervising people in the community who have offended and been released from custody in licence and people who have received community sentences
- Working with people in custody to prepare them for a life after release
- Monitoring the risk posed by people supervised in the community and ensuring the public is protected
- Planning and delivering rehabilitative support, often in partnership with voluntary sector organisations
- Enforcing compliance with court orders and licence conditions.
Background
From 2015 to June 2021, under the Ministry of Justice’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme, probation services were delivered by the National Probation Service (NPS) and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) across England and Wales.
Following a consultation on the probation system, in June 2021 all sentence management in England and Wales was brought back under the responsibility of the Probation Service.
There are 11 Probation Service areas in England and one Probation Service area in Wales, with each area overseen by a Regional Probation Director (RPD) who is responsible for the overall delivery and commissioning of probation services in their area.
Each of the 12 RPDs has published a Regional Reducing Reoffending Plan, which sets out how they will work with partner organisations to cut crime and make communities safer by reducing reoffending. RPDs bring together direct delivery of sentence management, unpaid work and interventions with significant regional commissioning budgets for rehabilitative services. The plans, which will be renewed annually, allow RPDs to highlight specific priorities and ambitions for their individual regions. They also reflect and align with the broader HMPPS approach to reducing reoffending – strengthening supervision, engaging people in rehabilitative activity and improving the support they receive to resettle in the community.
Probation Service Areas
- North East
- North West
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- Wales
- East Midlands
- West Midlands
- South West
- South Central
- East of England
- London
- Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- Greater Manchester
Commissioning
Current Services
A number of Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) were commissioned in 2021 through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide flexible support to people on probation. These contracts are mostly delivered by large VCSE organisations, with some smaller organisations sub-contracted, to provide specialist housing, employment, personal wellbeing and training support to reduce reoffending for men, and specialist holistic services to support women under probation supervision.
The Greater Manchester area took a different approach, co-commissioning their rehabilitative services alongside the Greater Manchester Combined Authority rather than through the MoJ portal. This joint model will continue in the future.
Future Recommissioning
The time has come to recommission CRS services from April 2027, with the design and development of the future services already underway. The budget for men’s services is currently set at £854,446,831.86 (including VAT) for the full term of the contracts, although final values will be confirmed once the spending review and governance is complete.
The proposed contract length is five years, with the option to extend by up to three further years. It is important to note that all key decisions—including budgets, contract length and dates—are still subject to approval through internal governance and therefore may change.
These contracts will be tendered across 27 lots, delivered in two waves of contracts. A detailed breakdown of the lots can be found here: Rehabilitative Services for men in prison or the community – Find a Tender.
A New Model
The new model is being designed to provide a whole-person approach to addressing the needs of people on probation or in prison, to help them resettle successfully in the community.
A central feature of this model will be the introduction of a community links approach. It has been recognised that a single point of contact—through a community link worker—can be more effective. This role will help people connect to a range of community-based activities and resources, strengthening their social networks and relationships to improve wellbeing, recovery from substance misuse, and desistance from crime.
These services will add to the capacity of existing HMPPS and statutory provision, by helping people in custody and the community access local voluntary and commissioned services. For this to be effective, community link workers will need a thorough understanding of the services available in their local areas.
Key Difference from Previous Contracts
Under the previous service model, there were separate contracts for different rehabilitative needs. The future services, however, will be commissioned as a combined service delivered through a single contract.
In custody settings, this combined service will provide tailored support to meet rehabilitative needs that are not already addressed by prison-based provision and that must be tackled to support a successful transition back into the community.
Flexibility is also being built into the new model. Current contracts require lengthy processes to make changes, which limits responsiveness. The new contracts will instead include a Delivery Prioritisation Plan (DPP). This will allow discussions about where services could be adapted—for example, if one service has low uptake or if a gap in provision is identified.
Procurement Approach
There will be a shift away from the Dynamic Framework, with the new contracts procured under the Procurement Act. These reforms are intended to reduce barriers, increase accessibility, and provide greater transparency.
All contracts will be published on a central digital platform, which is an enhancement of the existing Find a Tender Service. Only the lead provider will need to register on this platform, unless they rely on a sub-contractor to deliver part of the contract—in which case, that subcontractor will also need to register.
Market Engagement
To support this process, the MoJ is creating a database of organisations interested in taking part in future delivery. This will include those who may wish to be a lead bidder as well as those looking to join supply chains as partners. Information is being collected through a series of questionnaires to help build a clear picture of potential providers.
Timeframes
- Tender Notice and Pre Selection Questionnaire launch – September 2025
- Invitation to Tender for Wave 1 launch – October 2025
- Submission Deadline for Wave 1 – December 2025
- Invitation to Tender for Wave 2 launch – December 2025
- Submission Deadline for Wave 2 – February 2026
- Notification of Interest to Aware both Wave 1 and 2 – October 2026
- Contracts Begin – March 2027
The lots will be procured in two different waves, this is to give organisations that might want to bid for more than one lot the time to respond to the tender process. Wave One is expected to be launched end of September 2025 and Wave Two is expected in December 2025. There will then be a long period of silence until the contracts are awarded in October 2026. There will then be a period of mobilisation and the new contracts are expected to start in April 2027.
Women’s Commissioned Services
The market engagement process started in May 2025. The whole person approach from the men’s services is likely to be used for the women’s services. The next market engagement event is being held on 16 September 2025.
As with the men’s contracts the MoJ are creating a database of potential interested organisations.
Regional Commissioning
Regional Probation Directors have the discretion of funding work outside of the commissioned rehabilitative service contracts when a need arises, funded through the Regional Outcome and innovation Fund (ROIF). This can be either a grant or a contract. Regional Probation contracts will be commissioned through the Dynamic Framework and notification will be sent to allow such time for organisations to register on the portal, prior to a competition being launched.
Support to Register onto the Dynamic Framework
All relevant information about commissioning is hosted on Jaggaer (formally known as Bravo), which is the name of the Ministry of Justice’s commissioning portal. To access this, organisations need to log in to the system. If you don’t already have an account you will need to register here. If you are unsure whether you already have an account, you can email esourcing@justice.gov.uk and the team will check for you.
If you have any questions or need additional support, contact the MoJ central support team on 0845 0100 132 or email esourcing@justice.gov.uk.
Creating an account on Jaggaer does not automatically qualify you onto the Dynamic Framework. To do this your organisation must complete the Dynamic Framework ‘Selection Questionnaire’.
Read this short guide from HMPPS about how to qualify onto the Probation Services Dynamic Framework.
Qualifying onto the Dynamic Framework
Qualification is the process by which organisations apply to be on the Dynamic Framework. There is no cost to qualify onto the Dynamic Framework. To qualify, you need to:
- Demonstrate experience and provide case studies relevant to the need category that you are interested in, as well as answering standard selection criteria (e.g. essential information about the organisation; whether there have been convictions for fraud or corruption)
- Accept the standard the standard framework agreement which contains various terms and conditions which will apply to any contracts and grants awarded under the framework
- State your geographic areas of interest (though this will not be assessed until call-off stage).
Organisations will receive feedback on an unsuccessful application. After an unsuccessful application, you will have two more attempts to apply to be on the Dynamic Framework. If you are unsuccessful after a third application, there will be a six-month period before you can apply to be on the Dynamic Framework again.
Once you are logged in to Jaggaer, follow these steps to get to the Dynamic Framework:
- Click on ‘PQQs open to all suppliers’
- In the search bar type ‘Probation Dynamic Framework Selection Questionnaire’.
- Click on the event titled ‘PQQ_205 – Probation Dynamic Framework Selection Questionnaire’
- Click ‘My Response’ Box and ‘Edit Response’. Relevant information, including the standard framework agreement can be found under ‘Buyer Attachment’. Once you have completed all sections ‘Submit Response’.
Probation Grants Application Portal
Probation grant opportunities will be shared via the Probation Grants Application Portal. Organisations already qualified onto the Probation Dynamic Framework will not automatically be registered for the grants portal. The Dynamic Framework will be the purchasing system used for contracts only. The Probation Grants Application Portal is a completely separate purchasing system that will be used for grants only. To access information and to apply for grants you must register on the Probation Grants Application Portal through the Jaggaer system.
To register on the grants portal, you must first log onto the Jaggaer system. If you don’t already have an account you will need to register here. If you are unsure whether you already have an account, you can email esourcing@justice.gov.uk and the team will check for you.
Once you have logged into Jaggaer follow these steps to access the grants portal:
- Click on ‘PQQ’s open to all suppliers’.
- Select the ‘Probation Grants Application Portal’.
- When you click on the grants portal, you will be taken to a screen with some basic details. Here you have the option to express an interest – clicking this will move the Grants Portal PQQ into the ‘My PQQ’ page on your Jaggaer homepage and enable you to submit a questionnaire response.
- Once you have expressed an interest, you will be able to access all documents within the PQQ and receive/submit messages.
- You should then click ‘intend to respond’ to start the questionnaire response process.
- Once you have completed all fields and are ready, click 'submit response'.
- You will be alerted to the outcome of your questionnaire submission by message within the PQQ.
Once qualified onto the portal you will receive email alerts when new grant opportunities become available. You will only receive updates for the Probation Region you have selected in your submission.
Clinks will continue to provide updates on future commissioning opportunities on this page and in Light Lunch. If you have any queries email probation@clinks.org.
Clinks will continue to provide updates on future commissioning opportunities on this page and in Light Lunch. If you have any queries email probation@clinks.org.