[holding answer 5 July 2006]: There have been significant improvements in the performance of the probation service in recent years. However, we need to do more. We published on 30 March 2006 “Working with probation to protect the public and reduce re-offending”. This sets out how we will work with the probation service and other partners to develop more effective end-to-end management of offenders throughout their sentence. We intend to bring forward legislation to give effect to our proposals as soon as parliamentary time allows.