Dear Mr Spurr

14 July 2014 11:16

Dear Ms Brennan and Mr Spurr,

Please find a parliamentary briefing on the state of the Probation Service, voiced by front line staff and halt this part-privatisation as soon as possible before a serious further offence occurs. Both Mr Spurr and Ms Brennan, you have a duty to stop this utter disaster before it becomes worse. I am a Probation Officer who has resigned in protest at these changes and continues to fight the destruction of a world class service. Please read this as I have sent it to Parliament through appropriate channels.

Yours sincerely,

Joanna Hughes

21 July 2014 13:52:19 BDT

Dear Ms Hughes,

Thanks for your email to myself and Ursula Brennan attaching a 'Parliamentary Briefing' about the Transforming Rehabilitation Reforms. I am responding on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

As you will know the Transforming Rehabilitation Reforms have been set out in Parliament and are enabled through legislation (the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014). I recognise that you strongly disagree with the reforms and I note that you have resigned from the Probation Service in protest. I do regret that you felt it necessary to do this but of course I respect your view and your strength of feeling. Like you I care deeply about the work the Probation Service does. The current reforms will change the way that community services are delivered and will retain a strong public sector provision working with a range of other providers and partners incentivised to develop innovative approaches to reduce reoffending. They will also introduce statutory provision and support for the first time to offenders serving short prison sentences. These provide really positive opportunities for us to improve outcomes for offenders and the public.

These reforms have a legislative democratic mandate and it is our job to implement this policy effectively and that is exactly what we are doing. I don't for one moment underestimate the challenge of delivering the reforms but equally I don't accept that this is a 'disaster'. It is not, and to suggest that implementation is a 'mess' undermines the professionalism of your former colleagues.

The 'Parliamentary Briefing' you have attached appears to be a compilation of comments from staff about a whole range of issues. I assure you that we have mechanisms in place to deal with issues as they arise at local and national level and I am confident that we are doing just that.

I don't recognise where the £125m figure for the TR Programme comes from but it is wildly inaccurate. The Programme is being delivered within the MoJ's allocated budget and we will fulfil our duty to ensure that as the programme progresses we continue to deliver services effectively for the public and deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Spurr
Chief Executive

22 July 2014 15:48:05 BDT

Dear Mr Spurr,

Thank you for replying to my email. I know that you are not correct about strong public sector provision and innovative approaches to reduce re-offending. Half the eight bids that involved probation partnerships have dropped out because they believe they cannot deliver a safe service with the funds available. How is electronic tagging, now extended to the under 12 months and probably in future to all low and medium risk offenders (as this will be the only way to make a profit) going to help reduce re-offending? Do you have any idea what reduces re-offending? After 17 years, the one thing I learnt is that it is the relationship between client and officer which is the overriding factor on whether a person re-offends or not. How is Sentinel, with its emphasis on tagging and check-in kiosks going to help with the relationship? How is payment by results going to work when all evidence points to the fact that, in fact, it restricts one's ability to perform any task other than the most menial.

I have just sent you information on the under 12 months custodial group that belies your belief in a 'legislative democratic mandate' and I again send you more evidence of ways in which parliament were misled over this. I am certainly not undermining the professionalism of my former colleagues and it is ridiculous to say so. They are working heroically in the most adverse conditions, having been treated appallingly. There are no mechanisms for dealing with all the issues listed by staff below and they would laugh in your face if you said that to them directly.

Unlike Michael Gove and Chris Grayling, why didn't you listen to the professionals who actually know what they are talking about? What kind of egoism takes place in the minds of those who feel born to rule? I am only asking, Mr Spurr, because you are doing their bidding and, in doing so, ignoring those of us who have actually performed this work day in and day out. This job is a career, which you have ruined for many, and it is ultimately not about business models, private companies wanting to make money or governments wanting to impose a neo-liberal model on society. This is about offenders, human beings who have often never had much of a chance in life, being used as pawns in a political game where rich people get richer and poor get poorer.

I don't expect you to understand me. I talked to you after your speech at the Napo conference in a corridor and you told me that your risk strategy for those who move between low, medium and high risk was solely based on the fact that people were staying in the same offices. Those people are being turned against each other, bureaucracy is increasing risk and you will have a serious further offence on your hands before too long. You and Ursula Brennan have a duty to stop this and Ms Brennan has pledged that she will not proceed if it is too risky. It is too risky,

Yours sincerely,

Joanna Hughes