Appendix D: The National Offender Management Service
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) was created in 2004 with the aim of reducing re-offending and protecting the public. NOMS, based within the Ministry of Justice, comprises of a number of organisations including the prison and probation services, and is putting a system in place to deliver end-to-end management of offenders.
The organisation's key responsibilities are delivering a reduction in re-offending; protecting the public and the management of offenders. The management of offenders is devolved to nine regional offices in England and one office in Wales. The English regional offices are led by Regional Offender Managers. The Wales office is led by a Director of Offender Management.
These leaders are experts in the offending-related problems of their local area and are responsible for:
- Commissioning services for their region.
- Developing a regional reducing re-offending delivery plan.
- Co-ordinating regional and local partnerships.
The cross-government National Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan (NRRDP), launched in November 2005, outlines the Government commitment on improving offenders’ access to mainstream services across the seven pathways as identified by the Social Exclusion Unit’s report on ‘Reducing Re-offending by ex-Prisoners’ (2002):
- Accommodation.
- Employment and Skills.
- Children and Families.
- Finance, Benefit and Debt.
- Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour.
- Drugs and Alcohol.
- Health.
The nine regions in England, and Wales, have all developed strategies to take forward work on the pathways, with appropriate regional partners leading work on each of the strands through their Regional Reducing Re-offending Partnership Boards.
As the NRRDP was only designed to cover a period of 18 months, NOMS and partners have begun the process of developing a new three year strategic plan to take into account the new cross government PSA targets on drugs, alcohol and social exclusion. The plan will also need to promote the wider engagement of partners; support the continued delivery of offender management and the NOMS reform programme; and link to the CJS and wider government strategies. Key to its success will be its ability to drive effective local delivery.
