In March 2019, the UK National Audit Office issued a report on the reforms of the probation system in England and Wales initiated by Grayling during his tenure at the MoJ stating that the Ministry had "set itself up to fail" through the "rushed implementation" of the reforms. As a result, the MoJ's aim of delivering cuts in reoffending had not been achieved, with reoffending rates having "increased significantly", at a cost £467 million higher than predicted. In May 2019 incumbent Justice Secretary, David Gauke, announced offender supervision in England and Wales is to be returned to government control, under the management of the National Probation Service, reversing Grayling's policy. The abolition of Grayling's 'payment by results' system is to take place in December 2020, terminating the contracts of the private sector providers two years early. During the 2017–18 period 'serious further offences', which include crimes such as murder and rape had increased by 21% compared to the 2016–17 period in June 2019, a study published by the British Sociological Association described the privatisation of the probation system as an "unmitigated disaster" and found that it left the public at greater risk from ex-offenders released from prison.