Part of the restructuring of the National Offender Management Service is the appointment of 10 Directors of Offender Management (DOMs), one for each of the nine regions in England and one in Wales from 1 April this year (one is currently an interim appointment). The DOMs are from a wide range of backgrounds with extensive experience in all aspects of offender management.
The decision to devolve significant powers in offender management to a regional level has, inevitably, required a review of management functions at a national level. There are no longer distinct prisons and probation headquarters functions—the work is now performed by staff directly employed by the NOMS agency.
At the most senior level, these changes are exemplified by the creation of a new post with operational responsibility for both prisons and probation—the NOMS Chief Operating Officer. From 1 April this year, the Chief Operating Officer has taken responsibility for the previous functions of Prisons Director of Operations and Director of the National Probation Service. This post was filled following a full external competition supervised by the Civil Service Commissioner to ensure that the most suitable candidate was selected.
The post of Chief Operating Officer is much more than an amalgamation of senior posts in order to achieve efficiencies. The Chief Operating Officer's function is to ensure that the DOMs are delivering and to hold them accountable if they are not.
The DOMs will now undertake much of the work at a regional level that was previously conducted nationally by either the Director of the National Probation Service or the Director of Operations for the Prison Service.
As a result, there is no intention to reappoint another Director of the National Probation Service, just as there is no intention to reappoint another Director of Operations for the Prison Service.