Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 January 2007.

Prisoners: Offender Assessment System

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the offender assessment system was used in the pilot scheme in the north-west region for new styles and methods for managing and resettling offenders sentenced to prison; and to what extent it was found helpful and effective.

Answer: The offender assessment system (OASys) is in use across England and Wales and was used in the offender management pilot, or pathfinder, in the north-west region. The pathfinder benefited from the high-quality assessment of offenders that is delivered through use of OASys. It also highlighted where improvements might be made to OASys to better support offender management. An important step forward in relation to one such improvement—connectivity between the probation and prison OASys IT systems—was achieved in March 2006 when work was completed that linked probation areas to the public sector prisons.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1083; 688 c229WA
Session: 2006-07
Subjects: Rehabilitation Pilot schemes Prisoners Probation North West Offender assessment system
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk