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NOMS is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, bringing together the headquarters of the Probation Service and HM Prison Service to enable more effective delivery of services. The two bodies remain distinct but have a strong unity of purpose – to protect the public and reduce reoffending. Prison and probation services ensure the sentences of the courts are properly carried out and work with offenders to tackle the causes of their offending behaviour.
NOMS is responsible for commissioning and delivering adult offender management services, in custody and in the community, in England and Wales. It manages a mixed economy of providers. Decisions on what work is to be done and who it will be done by are based on evidence and driven by best value.
NOMS keeps the public safe by ensuring that around 260,000 offenders each year safely and securely undertake the punishment of the courts through custodial (prison) or community sentences provided through the prison and probation services. As a result, we work with a wide range of partners to deliver programmes and interventions designed to reduce reoffending.
There are currently 133 prisons in England and Wales. The management of 12 of these are contracted to private sector partners and the rest are run by the public sector through Her Majesty's Prison Service.
Probation services are provided by 35 Probation Trusts across England and Wales. All of the above receive funding from NOMS to which they are accountable for their performance and delivery.
How NOMS works (PDF 0.07Mb)
Map of establishments (PDF 0.9Mb)
