§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has commissioned research into the effectiveness of programme and case management integration on(a) programme completion and (b) re-offending rates. [181814]
§ Paul GogginsThe Home Office's National Probation Directorate (NPD) has commissioned one study that looked at the relationship between case management and accredited programme completion in the Probation Service. The research was conducted by Oxford University and it was managed and published by the National Probation Directorate in 2004. The Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) has evaluated it. The published findings "Think First Prospective Research Study: Effectiveness and Reducing Attrition" are available on the National Probation Service website (www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk).
The research found that good case management was associated with improved completion rates of the Think First programme. Of greatest value was when case management involved intense supervision around the start of the programme, support with personal problems, and frequent contact after completion of the programme to assist offenders in using what had been learnt.
NPD is planning to carry out a study to look at the impact of the Think First programme on reconviction rates (an established proxy measure for re-offending). The results should be available in 2005.
Also, the Home Office RDS is carrying out a systematic review of the international evidence in what works in offender management in the delivery of correctional services to reduce re-offending. The results from this are expected to be available in 2005.