Home > NEWS > CJI News Archive > 2022 > Apr-June > Terms of Reference published for Approved Premises Review Terms of Reference published for Approved Premises Review 26/05/2022 Inspectors are to undertake a thematic review of how effectively approved premises contribute to resettlement, rehabilitation and public protection outcomes in Northern Ireland. The review will examine the role of criminal justice organisations, including the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in supporting that work. Plans to include the inspection of approved premises in CJI’s statutory remit is currently being taken forward by the Department of Justice. For the purposes of this current work, the Minister of Justice has authorized CJI to conduct a review under Section 47(4) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002. Terms of reference for the review and a copy of the Approved Premises Framework CJI Inspectors will use to carry out their work have been provided to each of the facilities and organisations involved in the review and are both available below. A review of how effectively approved premises contribute to resettlement, rehabilitation and public protection outcomes in Northern Ireland Terms of Reference Introduction Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) proposes to undertake a thematic review of how effectively approved premises[i] contribute to resettlement, rehabilitation and public protection outcomes in Northern Ireland. The review will also examine the role of criminal justice organisations, including the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in supporting that work. There are seven premises in Northern Ireland which accommodate PBNI supervised offenders who pose the highest level of risk to the public on their release from custody. Plans to include the inspection of approved premises in CJI’s statutory remit is currently being taken forward by the Department of Justice. For the purposes of this current work the Minister for Justice has authorised CJI to conduct a review under Section 47(4) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002.[ii] For this review CJI will adopt its 2008 definition of approved premises i.e. ‘Hostels which receive Supporting People funding specifically for offenders, allocate bed spaces for criminal justice referrals and apply PBNI Standards.’ CJI has published two previous reports of approved premises, in 2008 and 2013, and in the intervening period conducted a series of unannounced visits to assess experiences and outcomes for those placed there. CJI inspections of Probation Practice (2020)[iii] Public Protection (2019)[iv] and Resettlement in the Northern Ireland Prison Service (2018)[v] also considered matters related to approved premises. The current review will be conducted in line with CJI’s processes for inspection. Context Approved premises act as a transition or half-way house between prison and settlement in the community, and have two main roles: to help rehabilitate and resettle some of the most serious offenders; and to make sure that the public are protected in the offenders’ early months in the community. The seven approved premises are: Bonds Hill, Centenary House, Dismas House, Edward Street, Innis Centre, MUST and Thompson House. Across Northern Ireland they provide 91 dedicated places for offenders referred directly by PBNI. Two accommodation providers (MUST and Bonds Hill) accept women in a mixed gender establishment. Funding for these places is provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) under the Department of Communities Supporting People Programme[vi]. All seven premises are managed by voluntary and community sector organisations. Four of the premises (Dismas House, Edward Street, The Innis Centre and Thompson House) only accept referrals from PBNI while the remainder also accommodate other service users. The allocation of places in approved premises is managed by a weekly allocation panel which is chaired by a PBNI Area Manager and is attended by the manager of each of the approved premises. While resident in an approved premises offenders are managed in accordance with PBNI Practice Standards v1.7 May 2021. Aims of the review The focus of the review will be on how approved premises in conjunction with criminal justice organisations contribute to achieving resettlement and rehabilitative outcomes and public protection. The broad aims of the review are to examine: how criminal justice policy and practice ensures that hostels deliver identifiable resettlement, reduced reoffending and public protection benefits; how well hostel capacity in Northern Ireland meets the needs of offenders; the contribution of pre-release work to successful periods of hostel residence; how well approved premises are involved in the assessment, planning and review work with residents to support them to achieve public protection, rehabilitation and resettlement goals; how well hostel regimes contribute to offenders achieving planned public protection, rehabilitation and resettlement goals; the effectiveness of partnership working between approved premises and criminal justice organisations in promoting effective outcomes; the effectiveness of move-on arrangements; how well staff working in approved premises are supported to achieve good resettlement and public protection outcomes for offenders; and any other matters arising in the course of the review which impact on resettlement and public protection outcomes for those residing there. Methodology The review will be based on the CJI Inspection Framework, the three main elements of the inspection framework are: Strategy and governance; Delivery; and Outcomes. CJI has developed a framework setting out the criteria which will be used to assess the quality of work undertaken at approved premises. The criteria is drawn from previous inspections of approved premises and informed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s inspection standards, effective practice guides and research. Equality and fairness form an integral part of any inspection undertaken by CJI and these themes will be also examined under this framework. The framework criteria only applies to residents of approved premises and not to other hostel residents. CJI are cognisant of the current circumstances and uncertainty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic including the impact on the everyday work of inspected organisations and this will inform designing and carrying out fieldwork for the review (see below) and may impact timing. Design and Planning Preliminary research Preliminary discussions have taken place with a number of organisations and the managers of the approved premises. Benchmarking, research and data collection Collection of benchmarking information and data, where available, from other jurisdictions and sectors in Northern Ireland, and review of inspection and research reports will be undertaken. Contact with agencies Terms of reference will be prepared and shared with the managers of approved premises, the PBNI, NIPS, PSNI and NIHE. Liaison officers from the organisations should be nominated for the purposes of the review. Policies and procedures, management information, minutes of meetings and related documentation from the organisations being reviewed will be requested and examined. Delivery Stakeholder consultation The following stakeholder organisations will be consulted: the PBNI; the NIPS; the PSNI; the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE); the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland; Community and voluntary sector organisations providing services to residents of approved premises; and Health and Social Care Trusts. Self-assessment Approved premises, the PBNI, the NIPS and PSNI will be asked to undertake a self-assessment, which will be reviewed by CJI prior to the commencement of fieldwork. Development of fieldwork plan The fieldwork plan will include: on site fieldwork at each approved premise to meet hostel managers, staff and residents, make observations and review records; meetings with staff and managers in the PBNI, NIPS, PSNI and NIHE involved in supporting the operation of approved premises; and the completion of case reviews charting the offender’s journey from custody to successful resettlement. The views of residents at each approved premise will be sought through semi-structured interviews. Focus groups/interviews with those approaching release from custody will also be conducted. Initial feedback to agency On conclusion of the fieldwork the evidence will be collated, triangulated and analysed and emerging recommendations will be developed. CJI will then present the findings to appropriate organisations. Drafting of report Following completion of the fieldwork and analysis of data a draft report will be shared with the relevant bodies including approved premises management, the PBNI, NIPS, PSNI, NIHE and any other relevant stakeholders for factual accuracy check. The Chief Inspector will invite bodies, where appropriate, to complete an action plan within six weeks to address the recommendations and if the plan has been agreed and is available it will be published as part of the final review report. The review report will be shared, under embargo, in advance of the publication date with relevant bodies. Publication and Closure A report will be sent to the Minister of Justice for permission to publish. When permission is received the report will be finalised for publication. A press release will be drafted and shared with approved premises management, the PBNI, NIPS, PSNI and NIHE prior to publication and release. A publication date will be agreed and the report will be issued. Indicative Timetable Scoping/research: December 2021 - May 2022. Fieldwork: June - August 2022. Draft report to agencies/approved premises for factual accuracy: November 2022. Publication: Early 2023. The above timetable may be impacted by factors such as the easing of Covid-19 public health restrictions and subsequent impact on the ability to conduct fieldwork where it needs to be undertaken face to face. Organisations will be kept advised of any significant changes to the indicative timetable. Click to view the CJI Approved Premises Review Framework. [i] There is no official definition of Approved Premises in Northern Ireland, however, the 2008 CJI Inspection of Approved Premises classified them as ‘Hostels which receive Supporting People funding specifically for offenders, allocate bed spaces for criminal justice referrals and apply PBNI Standards’. The subsequent 2012 PBNI Best Practice Framework incorporating NI Standards referred to ‘approved hostels’ which were defined as ‘a PBNI Approved Hostel refers to a hostel place to which PBNI can refer in its own right and, where required and relevant, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), persons who need supported and supervised accommodation’. [ii] Section 47(4) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 states “The Department of Justice may require the Chief Inspector to carry out a review of any matter relating to the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland (apart from a matter relating to a court or tribunal)..” [iii] CJI, Probation Practice in Northern Ireland, An inspection of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland, December 2020 available at: Probation Practice in Northern Ireland: An inspection of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (cjini.org) [iv] CJI, Lawful Duty: Public Protection Inspection III: A thematic Inspection of the Public Protection Arrangements for Northern Ireland, October 2019, available at: Lawful Duty; Public Protection Inspection III: A thematic inspection of the Public Protection Arrangements Northern Ireland. (cjini.org) [v] CJI, Resettlement: An Inspection of Resettlement in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, May 2018, available at: Resettlement: An inspection of resettlement in the Northern Ireland Prison Service (cjini.org) [vi] The Supporting People Programme helps people to live independently in the community. The programme grant funds 86 delivery partners that provide over 850 housing support services.