The Guardian Public Leaders Network live chat, which asked if probation was in peril, has been summarised on the Guardian’s public services reform hub.

And, reading the summary, it is clear that there is no real consensus emerging about the changes proposed in justice minister Chris Grayling’s consultation paper Transforming Rehabilitation.

There are areas of discussion that come up time and time again, however; and the need for effective partnering and the right choices for implementing this – including IT provision – are two of them.

At Alliantist, we feel we have to point out that our software platform pam is already effectively helping with partnering around the probation ecosystem and is, in fact, being used by the majority of existing Probation Trusts.

There is no doubt, however, that there is waste in the system that needs driving out, but it is in the public service delivery system for criminal and social justice as a whole, not just probation itself, where this needs to happen.

The ecosystem as a whole needs a better approach, not just one agency in isolation. The dangers of ‘salami slicing’ probation are clear from the debate. And Transforming Rehabilitation is in danger of just tinkering when wholesale innovation could be brought into local ecosystems – including by using the new office of PCCs and their partners.

The role of PCCs seems to be contradictory, given the proposals within Transforming Rehabilitation. PCCs were created with a mandate of bringing localism to the criminal justice system, but the new proposals seem to be trying to re-centralise the system. This tension needs resolving. It is as if the new PCCs are being asking to play a round of golf without their preferred choice of putter – points will be lost, though hopefully the match can still be won.

Alliantist has been working within the existing probation framework for a long time, and has yet to meet someone working within it that doesn’t understand the need for change – but the value of the excellent work already, and being, done should not be underestimated.