HMPPS Small Grants Programme Pilot – Probation in Tyisha, Llanelli
HMPPS is offering grants of up to £20,000 to local third sector organisations to strengthen community‑based rehabilitation in Tyisha, Llanelli. The funding will support the creation or development of a community connector role or service to help people on probation access local opportunities, navigate support systems, and build positive relationships in their neighbourhoods. Approaches should reflect local needs, strengths, culture, and networks, and build on what already works locally. Activities may include personalised guidance, confidence‑building, linking individuals to groups and services, reducing barriers to access, outreach in community spaces, and supporting sustained engagement. The project will run for 12 months from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. There are two grants available
- Opening date:
- Closing date: (Midday)
Contents
Summary
HMPPS is offering grants of up to £20,000 to local third‑sector organisations to strengthen community‑based rehabilitation in Tyisha, Llanelli.The grant is designed to establish or enhance a community‑connector type role/service that helps people on probation access local opportunities, navigate support systems, and build positive relationships in their own neighbourhoods. Organisations are encouraged to design approaches that reflect local needs, strengths, culture, and networks.Examples of what a community‑connector service may involve include:
· personalised guidance and signposting
· confidence‑building and motivation work
· connecting individuals to local groups, services, and volunteering opportunities
· facilitating introductions and reducing barriers to access
· enabling sustained engagement with community resources The project will run for approximately 12 months, from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, with delivery timelines agreed at award stage.
Total available funding: £40,000Funding per project: £20,000Expected structure of the sought activities: each individual activity and the overall length of the project: Organisations will have flexibility to shape their community‑connector role or service to meet the needs of people supervised by probation. The service must be delivered in the specified locations, and must promote engagement, wellbeing, stability, and connection to local support. Applications should clearly outline:
The design and purpose of the community‑connector approach
expected outcomes
delivery model and time commitment
how the role will be integrated into local networks
While the overall project must run within the 12‑month period (01 April 2026 – 31 March 2027), organisations may define service intensity and working patterns according to their model.Requirements for the providers Successful providers will be locally rooted, knowledgeable about their neighbourhood, and experienced in supporting vulnerable or marginalised people. Prior experience working with individuals in the Criminal Justice System is not essential; HMPPS will support providers to adapt their approach where needed.Providers must have robust safeguarding policies and procedures. We encourage co‑production with people on probation, use of accessible community venues, and services that are inclusive of the broader community.Benefit for the service users: Neighbourhoods can be powerful drivers of positive change. Evidence shows that localised, trusted, community-based support plays a vital role in desistance. This programme strengthens that approach in Tyisha by enabling probation teams to partner closely with local organisations.For people on probation, the programme provides:
· easier access to local services and networks
· personalised, relationship‑based support from a community‑connector
· opportunities to build confidence, skills, and positive identity
· engagement with non‑statutory partners and community groups
· improved sense of belonging and connection to their neighbourhood By embedding support directly within the community, the grant enables people on probation to navigate local opportunities more effectively and sustain engagement beyond the life of the grant. BACKGROUNDMany services accessed by people on probation are delivered through larger regional or national providers. This scheme seeks to connect people to community‑based support in Tyisha (Llanelli).Learning from the Grand Avenues project showed the value of working with small, hyperlocal providers who have trusted relationships and deep knowledge of their community. These organisations are well placed to provide bespoke, relational approaches that support desistance and encourage meaningful engagement.The grants will give local organisations flexibility to design a community‑connector style role/service that aligns with local strengths and ecosystems.Expected outcomes include:
· increased confidence and motivation
· stronger community engagement
· improved access to local resources
· development of coping skills and pro‑social identity
· greater sense of belonging and stabilityWe will work collaboratively with grant recipients to identify meaningful and proportionate ways to evaluate impact. Rather than imposing rigid KPIs, we will co‑design a small set of measures that reflect both the project’s aims and the strengths of each organisation. These may include indicators such as:
number of people on probation supported to access community‑based activities (e.g., volunteering, training, social groups)
families engaged or supported as part of a holistic approach
New local initiatives or community projects developed
Sustained engagement with services or activities over time
qualitative evidence of increased confidence, motivation, and sense of belonging
examples of strengthened community connections or reduced isolation
This approach ensures that evaluation captures not only outputs, but also the relational and developmental outcomes that hyperlocal organisations are uniquely placed to deliver.Organisations will also develop professional relationships with HMPPS and experience supporting people on probation as part of their broader community work.The services funded should be accessible to the wider community as well as people on probation, ensuring sustainability and opportunities for continued engagement.This is a new approach for HMPPS, building on emerging learning from previous locality‑based initiatives.
The grant scheme will run for approximately 12 months from March 2026 to March 2027
The total available of the grant is £40,000 - with £20,000 for each project
The total grant amount will be paid in advance, provided that the grant recipient has given sufficient assurance that the grant will be used for the stated purpose.
Eligibility
The award is open to VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations)
The voluntary sector organisation(s) or consortium receiving the grant from HMPPS, should be a registered charity or social enterprise.
Any organisation applying for funding must demonstrate that it meets the due diligence criteria before any award is made. The funding will only be given to organisations where their annual turnover is at least twice the amount of the funding that they are seeking.
Grant funding cannot be used to deliver core services which HMPPS should be delivering.
Objectives
Make a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals seeking positive change.
To improve people’s experience of prison and probation through the rehabilitation activities.
To support an individual’s rehabilitation and desistance journey;
To improve our knowledge about what activities, work to support people and to encourage rehabilitation and desistance.
Dates
The grant is open for applications until 2nd February 2026 (midday)
The project will run for approximately 12 months, from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, with delivery timelines agreed at award stage.
How to apply
In order to submit a compliant application, applicants must complete all questions in the Apply for a Grant application form. Please note and do not exceed the word counts for each answer. Any information that is included once the word count is exceeded will not be evaluated and will not count towards the evaluated score. Responses must not include diagrams, tables, images or similar.
Applicants are permitted to submit clarification questions via email to HMPPSGrants@justice.gov.uk. For transparency, this advert will be updated throughout the competition to include any responses to questions asked by applicants.
Further information from clarification questions:
No further information.
To be eligible for funding under this grant applicants must achieve the minimum threshold score of 3 averaged across all technical questions otherwise they will be removed from the competition process. The scoring criteria is outlined below:
Score Interpretation
5 Exceeds the requirement. Exceptional demonstration shown for the proposal, how the project will be delivered, and extensive past experience detailed.
4 Satisfies the requirements and has minor additional benefits. Above average demonstration across all questions.
3 Satisfies the requirements. Demonstrates understanding and ability to a satisfactory standard.
2 Satisfies most of the requirements with some minor reservations relating to the experience, understanding and/or ability. Whilst mostly the question has been answered in a satisfactory way, one element has been omitted/offers insufficient evidence.
1 Major reservations about the experience, understanding or ability demonstrated, with little to no evidence to support the questions. More than one element has been omitted.
0 Does not meet the requirement. Does not comply or offer sufficient information to demonstrated experience, ability of understanding. Significant elements of the question has been omitted or not addressed to a satisfactory standard.
The Authority reserves the right to ask clarification questions about any elements of an application. These questions will not give applicants the opportunity to expand on the response and may only be used where applications contain minor errors or to clarify where the information presented is unclear.
The grant, if awarded, shall be awarded to the Applicant(s) who:
has submitted an application in compliance with these instructions
meets the eligibility criteria
meets the minimum quality threshold of 3 questions
achieves the highest technical score
Due diligence checks will be carried out before the award can be made. These checks may include, but are not exclusive to, financial, brand, assurance, and charitable status.
Supporting information
Conflicts of Interest
The Authority is required to prevent conflicts of interest occurring in this competition and may disqualify applicants if an actual or potential conflict of interest occurs in connection with the competition which cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated. The Authority may disqualify any applicant which attempts (or whose advisers attempt) to influence the competition in any way.
MoJ Disclaimer
The Authority shall not be committed to any course of action as a result of:
issuing the competition documents
communicating with an applicant or an applicant’s representatives or agents in respect of this competition exercise; or
any other communication between the Authority (whether directly or by its agents or representatives) and any other party.
All applicants accept and acknowledge that by issuing the competition documents the Authority is not bound to accept any bid and reserves the right not to award or conclude a grant for all or any of the costs for which bids are invited.
The Authority reserves the right to apply its discretion on the amount of funding that is to be awarded to the successful applicant(s). If only part of the application is acceptable, in terms of the stated deliverables, then the Authority may only award funding on that basis.
The Authority reserves the right to amend, suspend or terminate all or any part of the competition or its documentation at any time during the ITT.
The instructions in this advert, together with any other tender documentation are designed to ensure that all applicants are given equal and fair consideration. Applicants should read the instructions carefully to ensure they understand them and the conditions of participation before submitting their applications.
Failure to comply with these instructions regarding submission of the application response may result in its rejection. The Authority may reject Tenders which are substantially and materially incomplete, non-compliant, inconsistent, or vague.
Applicants should answer all questions as accurately and concisely as possible. Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that their applications are free from error and accept that these cannot be modified after the submission deadline.
Costs incurred in submitting applications will be borne by applicants and will be defined as ineligible expenditure under the terms of the grant.
All information supplied by the Authority to applicants must be treated in confidence (unless already in the public domain) and must not be disclosed to third parties other than as is necessary for the purposes of preparing a Tender.