The Ministry of Justice has today said that it is extending its Justice Data Lab pilot, which gives charities access to tailored reoffending data.

The Ministry of Justice has also announced that it has awarded a £720,000 grant to umbrella organisation Clinks to provide support to smaller voluntary organisations working in the area of rehabilitation.

The grant will start in April and last for one year, which covers the period during which the government’s new approach to rehabilitation will be rolled out. This will see the public sector's National Probation Service work with the country’s most dangerous offenders and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) across England and Wales working with medium and low risk offenders.

Private and voluntary sector organisations will work together to run the CRCs and the competition for preferred bidders is underway.

The Ministry of Justice has also decided that its Justice Data Lab pilot by a year.

The Data Lab, developed with support from NPC, allows charities working with offenders to access data on the impact they are having in reducing re-offending. The pilot began in April 2013, with a review during its first year. Today’s decision means it is now funded until April 2015.

Justice minister Jeremy Wright said: “To date, 25 out of 55 reports published by the Justice Data Lab have measured the impact of services run by voluntary groups or charities. Eleven of the 19 statistically significant reductions in re-offending measured through the service have come from VCS organisations.”