RESPONSIBILITY for offenders in Durham Tees Valley has been passed to a community group made of eight organisations.

The partnership, called Achieving Real Change in Communities (ARCC), will support more than 900 low and medium offenders a year.

Partners include Darlington Borough Council, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust and The Vardy Foundation, a charity which helps community causes.

High risk offenders will be supported by the newly-formed National Probation Service.

Jenny Chapman, shadow prisons minister, said she "fundamentally disagrees" with the sale of the probation service.

The Darlington MP said: “There are already problems with communication between the national service and local organisations. Important information is not being passed between them, which creates danger for the public.

“Offenders frequently change from a low to a high risk - but they could still be supervised by a relatively inexperienced probation officer from the voluntary or private sector.

“It is, however, good to know that in this area at least there will be a strong provider that has some experience of working with offenders.”

Mike Batty, interim chair of ARCC, said: “We came together as a partnership because we wanted to ensure that there is a locally accountable service that maintains the best parts of the former Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust, which was one of the highest performing in the country.

“We aim to build on those traditions and continue to innovate in order to drive down levels of reoffending and crime.

“As a not-for-profit organisation, we will reinvest any surpluses in the area. Our success will directly benefit the communities we serve.”

ARCC is part of a wider national scheme introducing 21 regional Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), including ones in North Yorkshire and Northumberland.

CRCs will plan rehabilitation for offenders when they first enter prison.

They will continue to support the individual throughout their sentence and when they are released.

Justice minister Andrew Selous said: “These reforms are about introducing new ideas and a fresh approach to rehabilitation.

“Reoffending rates have been too high for far too long, but I strongly believe we can now finally start to crack this stubborn problem.”