Community Payback: An inspiring visit showcasing local innovation in action and giving back to communities.

Recently, the Commissioner visited a Community Payback project in Cardiff that places giving back to the community at the very heart of its work.

The project, established and managed by HMPPS, includes a carpentry workshop focused on furniture upcycling and production, as well as a walking aid restoration facility that services three major hospitals across Cardiff and the Vale. The project operates seven-days a week and hosts people on probation.

The impacts of this project can be seen and felt by communities across both Local Authorities; they include the enhancement of local environments by providing planters and fencing to residential areas, community spaces, and schools; creating and building story chairs and decorations for community events; and delivering vital support to the NHS by restoring walking aids, reducing waiting times while also cutting waste and benefiting the environment.

This is just one example of the many diverse Community Payback projects operating across South Wales every day.

Projects like these play a crucial role in rehabilitation, supporting individuals to develop skills for employment, access education and training, and make positive choices for the future while giving back to their communities and contributing to safer, more inclusive environments.

Reducing reoffending and fostering safe, inclusive communities are key commitments within the Commissioner’s Police, Crime and Justice Plan, and Community Payback projects are important components to achieving these outcomes.

The visit was both inspiring and a powerful demonstration of local innovation, with local projects increasingly recognised across Wales as leading practice.

The Commissioner remains committed to working alongside communities, HMPPS, and partners to support and co-produce Community Payback projects that are locally designed, collaborative, and meaningful to both participants and the communities they serve.

To nominate or support a Community Payback project in your area as an individual, charity, local business or other enterprise, please follow the link below.

Nominate a Community Payback project – GOV.UK