The Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon. KC MP, has announced the
appointment of Sue McAllister as the interim Chief Inspector of
Probation (HMCI Probation). This interim appointment will
commence on 1 October 2023 and end on 1 March 2024 or when a
substantive post holder is appointed, whichever is earlier.
The recruitment of HMCI Probation is regulated by the
Commissioner for Public Appointments and this interim appointment
has been made in line with the Governance Code on Public
Appointments.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) is the independent
inspector of probation and youth offending services in England
and Wales. The Inspectorate offers independent scrutiny of the
quality of work undertaken with individual offenders to seek to
improve outcomes for individuals and communities.
Biography
From 2018 to 2022, Sue McAllister was Prisons and Probation
Ombudsman (PPO). During that time, Mrs McAllister led two
independent investigations into deaths of babies in custody. The
PPO’s report on the death of Baby A at HMP Bronzefield was
published in September 2021, and the report on the death of Baby
B at HMP Styal was published in January 2022..
Prior to becoming PPO, Mrs McAllister was the Director of
Reducing Offending and Prison Service Director General,
Department of Justice (DOJ), Northern Ireland. She has held
senior policy roles including Head of Public Sector Bids Unit at
the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), and operational
management roles in HM Prison Service as Prison Governor, Head of
Security Group and Area Manager for the West Midlands.
Mrs McAllister also led an independent investigation into a
serious disturbance at an Immigration Removal Centre for the Home
Office and was a member of an independent review into a sensitive
death in custody.
