For those not living in the Gloucester area, the programme is available live on the BBC local radio website.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Joanna Hughes on the Radio
Joanna Hughes, the Probation Officer who resigned rather than serve under Chris Grayling's TR omnishambles, has pre-recorded an interview with BBC radio Gloucestershire and it will be broadcast tomorrow, Tuesday 8th July at 7.05am and 8.05 am. An interview with Justice Minister Jeremy Wright will also feature, along with local MP Martin Horwood who is supportive of the plight of Probation Staff.
For those not living in the Gloucester area, the programme is available live on the BBC local radio website.
For those not living in the Gloucester area, the programme is available live on the BBC local radio website.
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Good on you, Joanna. I feel a strange ripple of shame & envy at your brave decision, i.e one of those "I wish I'd..." moments. But I battle on for now, admittedly moaning and grumbling every day, fruitlessly lying to myself & hoping it will suddenly change back like a pumpkin at midnight.
ReplyDeleteThat's called total conviction. An inspiration to us all & a slap in graylings face. Well done.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, all the best and sock it to them.
ReplyDeleteWell done Joanna. I'm the millionth hitter, if there's anything I can help with, Jim knows how to contact me and what I'm like!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanna from a PO who wished she could do the same. The focus of my life is how to get out of a job that such a short time ago I loved and was proud to do.It shapes every dream and hope I have now, I just need a new job and I must get away from this. It is so much worse than any of us imagined. .
ReplyDeleteRumours that London has lost another bidder and is down to two. Keep up the pressure guys. The players are losing confidence in the deals on offer.
ReplyDeleteRadio interviews are notoriously difficult - good job Joanna.
ReplyDeleteJoanna did a really good job. Same old guff from Jeremy Wright
ReplyDeleteCan't cut&paste for some reason - link to story here
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Gloucestershire-probation-officer-quits-job/story-21342278-detail/story.html
The Government has replaced 35 probation trusts across England and Wales with a smaller number of community rehabilitation companies with private sector companies invited to bid to run the services.
DeleteJoanna Hughes from Cheltenham worked as a probation officer in Gloucester for 17 years but decided to quit because she felt the changes made it “impossible to carry on”.
“To make a profit, private companies have to cut services,” she said.
“They will cut pay and… they will cut corners.”
Miss Hughes has said previously the shake-up has been “hastily carried out” and is “skewed in favour of corporate interests”.
“The short term aim of the private companies invited to bid to run the services is to make a profit,” she said.
The community rehabilitation companies are tasked with supervising medium to low risk offenders.
Meanwhile, a new national probation service will supervise high risk offenders.
Private sector contractors and mutual companies formed by probation officers were invited to bid for the right to run a CRC with contract decisions expected by the end of 2014.
Bidding has now closed.
The part-privatisation is believed to be the first time a market has been created on this scale in core probation services anywhere in the world.
The Government changes are aimed at reducing the UK’s reoffending rate.
Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, has said the new system will be “more efficient and less bureaucratic” than its predecessor.
Martin Horwood, Cheltenham’s Liberal Democrat MP, has questioned the way the bidding has been handled.
“I couldn’t understand why Conservative ministers were so determined not to allow the public sector to bid for this,” he said.
He suggested the decision may have been “ideological”.