PROBATION workers are meeting offenders in 'community centres and Salvation Army halls' amid a restructuring exercise which will also mean redundancies and budget cuts.

Durham Tees Valley Community Rehabilitation Company (DTV CRC) has handed back the keys to its offices across the region, meaning staff must meet offenders on probation in public buildings, The Northern Echo has been told.

The move is part of a restructuring exercise which it is understood has already lead to the departure of several long-serving staff members, with talks ongoing about further possible redundancies.

DTV CRC replaced Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust in 2014 after the part-privatisation of the probation service.

The CRC handles low and medium risk offenders in the County Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley areas, while high risk offenders are overseen by public sector staff.

A source said the CRC was dealing with around 30 per cent fewer offenders than anticipated, meaning its funding from the Government was around £4 million below what had been budgeted for.

This has prompted CRC bosses to move out of several offices around the region to save money.

A source said: "Staff are meeting offenders in community centres and Salvation Army Halls because there's nowhere else.

"There's been no risk assessments done on these buildings and there are real concerns about privacy and safety."

In response, Bronwen Elphick, chief executive of the Durham Tees Valley CRC, said: “Since its inception in 2014, the DTV CRC has seen a reduction in offenders and colleague numbers.

"As a result, the DTV CRC completed a comprehensive review of service delivery and has restructured its business to achieve operational efficiencies to ensure positive outcomes for the people and communities of Durham and Teesside.

"The DTV CRC carry out full health and safety risk assessments on community venues where meetings with participants are held.

"These are available to all staff and meetings can be held at our offices in Stockton and Durham if staff feel that there is a potential risk to the themselves and the community."

The CRC stressed that no offices has been sold as premises were under lease from the Ministry of Justice.

"We have however rationalised all of our estates resulting in savings of over £600,000 per year, which will be reinvested into the delivery of new services,” a spokesman added.

Napo, the trade union for probation staff, is holding talks with CRC bosses about the restructuring exercise.

A Napo spokesperson said: "Napo is engaged in ongoing discussions with DTV CRC to mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies and to ensure that the restructure will not impact negatively on service delivery or compromise public safety."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "CRC's are contractually required to maintain a professional and appropriately skilled workforce to deliver the services set out in their contracts.

“CRC contracts are designed to make sure providers deliver services which reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

"Public protection is our priority and we continue to work closely with probation providers to maintain appropriate staffing levels and to rehabilitate offenders effectively."