Tuesday 22 July 2014

Privatisation Special

Lets kick this off with 'mission impossible'. Serco are looking for an 'ethics' officer. The closing date is July 28th:-  
Serco Group plc is an international services company, established for over 50 years, delivering essential services for both the public and private sectors. It is well-respected for being a values-led company with a culture and ethos that is at the heart of everything it does. The company gives its people real responsibility and allows them to put their ideas into practice to truly make a difference for customers and the public. Serco employs over 120,000 people worldwide, including over 40,000 in the UK. 
Due to Serco`s continued focus on business ethics we are currently recruiting for an Ethics Officer to strengthen the support we provide to our senior management team. The Ethics Officer will act in support of the Directors of Ethics and Governance (of both our UK and Europe divisions) by supporting the Senor Ethics Officer in monitoring and reporting results of the ethics activities of the company and in providing recommendation and reporting for the two Directors on matters relating to ethics.

Duties include:- Champions the ethical values of the organization, promoting and embedding our ethics policies, code of conduct and business principles across the division.- In conjunction with the Senior Ethics Officer reviews, maintains, and recommends revisions and further actions with respect to policies and procedures for the general operation of the Ethics Programme and its related activities to prevent illegal, unethical, or improper conduct. Supports in the day-to-day management of the Program.- Collaborates with other departments (e.g., Risk Management, Compliance, Legal Department, Employee Services, etc.) to direct compliance issues to appropriate existing channels for investigation and resolution. Consults with the Corporate attorney as needed to resolve difficult legal compliance issues.- Working with the Corporate Investigations Team, responds to alleged violations of rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and Standards of Conduct. Work with the Senior Ethics Officer to oversee a system for uniform handling of such violations.- Acts as an independent review and evaluation body to ensure that ethics Issues/concerns within the organization are being appropriately evaluated, investigated and resolved.- Monitors, and as necessary, coordinates ethics related activities of other departments to remain abreast of the status of all compliance activities and to identify trends.- Identifies potential areas of vulnerability and risk including risks around bribery and corruption, facilitation payments, human rights, conflicts of interest, competition law etc; develops/implements corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues; and provides general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future.- Provides reports on a regular basis, and as directed or requested, to keep the two Divisional Ethics Committees and senior management informed of the operation and progress of compliance efforts.
This is an important and high profile role within Serco and as such we are looking for a Compliance subject matter expert with a proven track record in influencing stakeholders in the ethical agenda. Ideally you will possess knowledge of working with public service providers, preferably central government and have an inclusive, approachable and consultative nature. In return we offer a role with autonomy and scope to progress you career in the ethics space. The role attracts a competitive salary and benefits.
Nicely timed for the run up to the party political season and General Election next year and due to the runaway success of privatising the probation service, it's interesting to see that old chestnut about privatising job centres is back on the agenda. This in the Guardian reporting on a report just published by Policy Exchange.:- 
Job centres are failing to help about a third of their customers – mainly the long-term workless – and should be restructured to enable private companies and charities to compete with government providers, a report by the influential centre-right thinktank Policy Exchange has proposed.
The report, which came out on Monday, says jobcentres are failing many of the 11.5 million people in Britain with a long-term health condition, especially those with a mental health problem. It says the employment service should be rebranded as Citizen Support and advise the unemployed on the best personalised service available to them, including the data on their previous success rates. This would give the jobless person the advantage of being able to decide which service they wanted to commission to help them find work.
The call to reform employment services is not confined to the centre-right. Sharp criticisms of their performance have been made by the Labour MP David Lammy and, from a different perspective, by the centre-left thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research. The Policy Exchange call for reform comes before a report for the government into whether the benefit sanctions regime is failing too many unemployed, especially those on the work programme.
The report claims that the system is in urgent need of reform and tries to make the case for that new buzz term 'personalisation' arguing that the next logical direction of reform is a radical new structure centred around the specific needs of the individual. It all sounds so comforting and cuddly, but this is a right-wing think tank:- 

  • Jobcentres should be completely overhauled. The employment services part should be mutualised and be allowed to compete with the private and voluntary sectors as well as other public bodies to provide specialist support for people looking to find work.
  • The remaining part of Jobcentre Plus should be expanded and rebranded as Citizen Support. It would effectively act as the primary and central hub for accessing government services, enabling advisors to identify an individual’s specific barriers to work and suggest providers that could help meet that person’s needs. The advisor would also show the success rate of each provider using comparison data to help the jobseeker make a more informed decision about which providers are most appropriate to help them.
  • Instead of the budget being allocated directly from central government to different providers as is currently the case, the money would be allocated to the individual claimant and then be funnelled to the provider of choice who is paid on the outcomes they achieve.
  • Unlike the current system, the provider of choice would act as an individual’s ‘caseholder’ – a specific point of contact. That lead provider will then coordinate specialist support suited to that person’s unique needs.
Seamus Milne writing in the Guardian on the other hand confirms that public opinion is very definitely against privatisation:- 
Privatisation isn't working. We were promised a shareholding democracy, competition, falling costs and better services. A generation on, most people's experience has been the opposite. From energy to water, rail to public services, the reality has been private monopolies, perverse subsidies, exorbitant prices, woeful under-investment, profiteering and corporate capture.
Private cartels run rings round the regulators. Consumers and politicians are bamboozled by commercial secrecy and contractual complexity. Workforces have their pay and conditions slashed. Control of essential services has not only passed to corporate giants based overseas, but those companies are themselves often state-owned – they're just owned by another state. Report after report has shown privatised services to be more expensive and inefficient than their publicly owned counterparts. It's scarcely surprising that a large majority of the public, who have never supported a single privatisation, neither trust the privateers nor want them running their services.
But regardless of the evidence, the caravan goes on. David Cameron's government is now driving privatisation into the heart of education and health, outsourcing the probation service and selling off a chunk of Royal Mail at more than £1bn below its market price, with the government's own City advisers cashing in their chips in short order. No amount of disastrous failures or fraudulent wrongdoing, it seems, debars companies such as G4S, Atos and Serco from lucrative new contracts in what is already an £80bn business – and one with an increasingly powerful grip on Westminster and Whitehall.
Again in the Guardian, more evidence that privatisation just isn't working:-
Successive governments have pursued an agenda of market competition, outsourcing and privatisation within public services. Their aim? Innovation – the kind that clunky, state run services apparently cannot deliver. For our politicians, the market has become synonymous with better services at lower costs.
But is this actually the case? Evidence is surprisingly hard to come by. Decades of restructuring and reform have gone by without much effort to find out. What limited evidence there is gives cause for concern. A recent survey of 140 local authorities shows the majority are beginning to take services back in-house, citing concerns about rising costs and decreasing quality. Pay and conditions for services staff have plummeted and transparency has given way to commercial confidentiality. Power has been concentrated in the hands of a few supremely wealthy private providers, now dogged by a series of high-profile scandals and widespread public mistrust.
What, really, did we expect? Attempting to force innovation by pitting providers against each other naturally breeds fragmentation and opposition between stakeholders – which in turn discourages the partnerships and holistic thinking necessary for joined-up and preventative services. Efficiencies are sought by squeezing workers' time, undermining the potential for caring services; and by cutting wages, causing diminishing morale, retention rates and productivity. New targets and auditing regimes have been introduced to regulate a diversity of providers, side-lining local priorities and knowledge in the process. Shareholder value has been allowed to trump social value, eroding collective responsibility and solidarity.
As the 'we own it' website makes clear, now is the time for a grown up debate about public ownership:-
For the mainstream political classes, public ownership remains anathema. For New Labour types, nationalisation in particular is the political equivalent of the word “MacBeth” for the acting fraternity; words that cannot be spoken for fear they will bring bad luck or, more to the point, undermine their pro-business credentials. Suggestions by the Tories - and their pro-business friends in the media and the City of London - that nationalisation presages a return to the dark days of the 1970s lead Labour to beat a hasty retreat from raising any serious critique of how our economy is owned and controlled.

The irony is that it is the UK’s political class that is out of step with the times. Public ownership is back on the public policy agenda in much of the rest of the world as the failures of three decades of privatisation become increasingly apparent. In Germany and France, but also in large swathes of Africa, Latin America and even the United States, new forms of public ownership at local, regional and national levels are being introduced that take whole sectors back into democratic control. Even the European Union’s commissioner for energy policy has recently suggested that if key strategic priorities around tackling climate change are going to be met, the electricity grid across the continent should be returned to public hands.

45 comments:

  1. Sodexo offer the following opportunity @ £15.5k per year:

    HMP Peterborough is is the country’s first and only dual purpose built prison for both men and women, who are kept separate at all times and it also hosts the world’s first payment by results project for offenders. Work is fully underway on an exciting Prison extension project which will increase capacity by nearly a third – this is due to open officially in December 2014 and we are now recruiting for Operational Support Officers (OSOs) who share our values and beliefs to work with prisoners in the extension.


    Operational Support Officers are integral to the day to day running of the prison - the front line on a day to day basis, for the below tasks:

    Provide a first point of contact to the general public and official visitors in a polite and professional manner
    Operate and monitor security and supervision systems within the prison
    Operate and input data into the IT systems and local and corporate administrative systems are required.
    Report any problems or concerns, potential breaches of security or Health and Safety hazards to the Duty Manager immediately.
    Ensure a thorough handover to incoming staff, making them fully aware of recent and forthcoming events.
    Carry out all work in accordance with policy and procedures, in particular health and safety, race relations, equal opportunity, suicide prevention and anti-bullying policies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or for an extra £7k a year, you could be a handyman:

      HMP Peterborough is is the country’s first and only dual purpose built prison for both men and women, who are kept separate at all times and it also hosts the world’s first payment by results project for offenders. Work is fully underway on an exciting Prison extension project which will increase capacity by nearly a third – this is due to open officially in December 2014 and and we are now recruiting for a Maintenance Operative to join the team.

      You'll provide timely and effective maintenance support to the estate in order to ensure the safe and efficient running of the Prison. A professional and prompt service is required while carrying out small repairs or planned maintenance on the Site.


      Deliver an effective maintenance service throughout the Prison.
      Control tools and equipment in accordance with laid down Security Procedures
      Carry out general maintenance work including basic plumbing, painting and decorating, basic electrics and maintenance of HVAC and BMS systems within the Prison boundaries.
      Work closely and co-operate with colleagues to ensure the safe and smooth running of the Prison.
      Undertake call out responsibility for all emergencies on a rota basis
      Abide by all SJS policies and all applicable regulatory and safety policies.
      Assist in installation and Project work, as required.
      Participate in all mandatory/refresher training as required.
      Continual development in role, commensurate with experience/skills.

      Delete
    2. Pushing the top end @£19-22, G4S have this:

      Offender Supervisor
      HM Prison Parc, Bridgend
      Salary range : £19,526.29 - £22,692.71 per annum
      Full-time (40 hours per week, Monday - Friday)
      As the world’s leading security solutions group with operations in over 120 countries and more than 625,000 employees worldwide, G4S is a truly unique company. We’re bigger, more diverse and involved in more fascinating, cutting-edge projects than many people would imagine and we now have an exciting opportunity for Offender Supervisor to join our team at HMP Parc, a category B prison, In Bridgend, South Wales, holding over 1038 convicted male adult prisoners and remand / convicted young offenders and young people in a secure but modern environment.
      Job Outline
      To work within the Offender Management model to identify, interview and assess prisoner risk levels within national guidelines. To work closely with Offender Managers to implement the sentence plan by ensuring close collaboration with key workers and interventions within custody. To ensure appropriate information is passed on via OM structures to manage risk both in custody and upon release.
      Key Responsibilities
      Participate in, contribute to and undertake OASys Assessments carried out within the Offender Management Model / OASys framework.
      To ensure risk information is communicated with other areas of the establishment via internal risk management processes
      To maintain accurate assessments and records for individual caseload within the OM model.
      To assess for and refer prisoners to appropriate interventions (programmes) within the establishment.
      To carry out reviews in order to assess reduction in risk and complete reports as appropriate for recategorisation boards.
      To carry out HDC and ROTL Risk Assessments as appropriate.
      To participate in the parole review process as appropriate.
      To manager a generic caseload of offenders within required frameworks and timeframes in order to manage and reduce risk.
      Liaise with the OCA department in order to allocate prisoners for whom HMP & YOI Parc cannot meet offending behaviour needs.
      Act in accordance with security and operational instructions at all times to ensure the maintenance of security within the secure environment.
      Assist in maintaining a positive Health & Safety culture in line with British Safety Council 5 Star standards.

      Delete
    3. Don't want to ignore the charitable sector. Here's Catch-22's offer:

      Prison Based Case Manager
      Job reference R0000324
      Salary from £16,407.85 per annum
      Package Permanent, full time 39 hours per week

      This is a great opportunity to join our team at HMP Doncaster. As a Custody Case Manager you will participate in the provision of direct work with prisoners in their successful transition from custody to an offending free future in the community. You will co-ordinate, monitor, review and deliver (as appropriate) sentence plan interventions for all allocated offenders.

      As a Custody Case Manager you will:

      Undertake direct work in response to prisoners within Doncaster Prison.
      Assess the risk and needs of prisoners with a view to developing sentence plans designed to mitigate identified risks and address relevant needs to ensure an offence free future.
      Monitor and review, on a regular basis, individual prisoner's progress and response to the work undertaken with them, as they progress along their "sentence plan" to eventual release.
      Provide a range of reducing reoffending interventions, e.g. group work, co-work etc., in order to meet the needs of prisoners.

      To succeed as a Custody Case Manager, you must have:

      Experience of working with vulnerable people.
      Ability to work on an inter-agency basis.
      The ability to contribute to ongoing assessments of the support needs of under-supported young people and to provide appropriate advice and support to them.
      Ability to demonstrate empathy with those suffering discrimination and disadvantage.

      A forward-looking social business, Catch22 has over two hundred years' experience of providing services that help people in tough situations to turn their lives around. Our programmes help those we work with to steer clear of crime or substance misuse, do the best they can in school or college and develop skills for work, live independently on leaving care or custody, gain new skills and confidence as parents, and play a full part in their community.

      Delete
    4. Postscript - you have to email someone at serco for more info about the catch-22 job above.

      Delete
    5. And the recruitment specialists are cock-a-hoop. Sanctuary tell us:

      "Following major revisions to the probation service under the 'Transforming Rehabilitation' programme, there is strong demand for additional staffing provision on a temporary or contract basis."

      Has anyone else noticed the gap in resources?

      Delete
    6. That's odd: "Catch 22 has over two hundred years' experience of providing services blah blah". And there was me thinking Joseph Heller coined the term and published the eponymous novel in 1961. Perhaps I have slipped through a rift in the space-time continuum?

      Delete
    7. You know what happens when you pay peanuts.....

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    8. I haven't been anle to find any reference to catch22 in any documents dating from 19th C. Is this an anomaly with the internet search engines?

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    9. Rainer - one of the pre statutory probation 1907 - organisations - the detail is not in my mind right now.

      Home Office - Direct Entrant Training Scheme ran at Rainer House up to about 1980is - then they refashioned themselves once that was ended - - I may be muddling different organisations.

      But I did find this: -
      "
      http://www.catch-22.org.uk/who-we-are/history/

      CATCH 22 -

      Our history

      Catch22's history starts in 1788 with the formation of The Philanthropic Society, who aimed to 'unite the spirit of charity with the principles of trade' - our original definition of a 'social business'.

      Catch22 has a long and rich history in innovative public service work. Catch22 was formed in 2008 from a merger between the Rainer Foundation and Crime Concern. The Rainer Foundation began as the London Police Court Mission in 1876 and became the Rainer Foundation in 1964. The earliest roots of Catch22, however, go back to 1788 and the formation of the Philanthropic Society, which joined the Rainer Foundation in 1997 to form RPS Rainer. Crime Concern then joined in them in 2008 to form Catch22.
      A philosophy of openness since 1788

      At the first meeting of the Philanthropic Society in 1788 – the earliest forerunner to Catch22 – it was decided that in order to help young people the organisation was ‘not to have surrounding walls’. This philosophy of openness is still at the centre of Catch22; we believe that innovation and flexibility are essential to the modern provision of public services – and therefore to unlocking the potential of vulnerable young people and adults.
      Beginnings: Royal Philanthropic Society and intellectual, philosophical and political roots

      The Philanthropic Society formed in 1788 for the ‘Prevention of Vice and Misery among the Poor’. The Society was created amidst concern over rising crime and ‘moral degradation’ in growing urban areas.

      The purpose was to help young people who had been caught up in crime to develop ‘virtuous dispositions, and industrious habits’ and ultimately to ‘find them the means of an honest employment and livelihood’.

      The Philanthropic Society saw their ultimate goal as improving society at large. They aimed to ‘unite the spirit of charity with the principles of trade’ by focusing on the social returns gained from improving the ‘morals and ethics’ of young offenders.

      By 1854 the examples set by the Philanthropic Society were cemented in law through the Youthful Offenders Act of 1854 and the Reformatory Schools Act of the same year. The Acts allowed young offenders to be sentenced to an independent reformatory school instead of prison, such as the Reformatory Farm School for Boys established by the Society in 1849.

      TO BE CONTINUED

      Delete
    10. CONTINUED: -

      The Philanthropic Society believed in the state’s responsibility to legislate for the vulnerable but also recognised the voluntary sector’s capacity for the care and advancement of all in society. This view is one which remains at the heart of Catch22 today – we support people in tough situations to turn their lives around by working in partnership with local and central government.

      The Philanthropic Society received a royal charter in 1952, becoming the Royal Philanthropic Society.
      Transitions and mergers: the London Police Court Mission, Rainer and Crime Concern
      The London Police Court Mission

      The London Police Court Mission (LPCM) was established in 1876 by Frederic Rainer and the Church of England Temperance Society (CETS). After expressing concerns about the lack of external support for vulnerable people who came before the courts, the CETS began appointing missionaries to Southwark Court – a mission that evolved into the LPCM. They worked with magistrates to develop a system of guidance, education and support in an effort to rehabilitate rather than immediately incarcerate offenders.

      By 1907, LPCM’s example of appointing missionaries to care for offenders was written into the law through the Probation of Offenders Act, and the missionaries were known as ‘probation officers’. When the Home Office assumed control of the probation service in 1938, the LPCM concentrated on hostels for ‘probation trainees’ and homes for children in ‘moral danger’, sexually abused children and young mothers.
      Rainer

      In 1964 the LPCM became the Rainer Foundation after founder Frederic Rainer and extended its remit to include children not meeting their full potential at school, and moved from residential to more community-based work.

      In 1997 the Royal Philanthropic Society (RPS) merged with Rainer to become RPS Rainer, known simply as ‘Rainer’ by 2003.In 2002 other charities were incorporated, including the DIVERT Trust, which had built its reputation on mentoring services, and the National Leaving Care Advisory Service (NLCAS, later NCAS).
      Crime Concern

      Crime Concern was established in 1988 by the then Home Secretary Douglas Hurd. The charity aimed to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by working with offenders and their families, and offering support through education, training and employment. Supported by funding from the Home Office, Crime Concern looked to extend crime prevention beyond the police and into communities.
      Catch22

      In 2008 Rainer merged with Crime Concern to become Rainer Crime Concern and then Catch22.

      Today Catch22 embodies many of the philosophies and beliefs of the three founding organisations. We believe in helping people in tough situations for the wider benefit of society, as the Royal Philanthropic Society adid. We are also still similar to the London Police Court Mission in working to rehabilitate offenders by providing support before and after their release from prison, or with their community sentence. Fundamentally, although our environment and circumstances have changed, our ultimate goals have not: we aim to deliver social value by turning chaotic lives around.
      Further reading

      Doreen Muriel Whitten, ‘Protection, Prevention, Reformation: a history of the Philanthropic Society, 1788-1848’, (Ph.D. Thesis, 2001)
      Doreen Muriel Whitten, ‘Nipping Crime in the Bud: How the Philanthropic Quest was Put into Law’, (Hook, 2011)
      Eugenio F. Biagini, ‘Citizenship and Community’, (1996, Cambridge)
      Martin Wienar, Between Two Worlds: the political thought of Graham Wallas, (Oxford, 1971)
      The Guardian, May 2007, Timeline: A history of probation
      Third Sector Magazine, 2008, Rainer and Crime Concern announce new name
      Further information about The Royal Philanthropic Society’s school in Redhill can be found at the Surrey History Centre.
      The Rainer Foundation archives are held by Galleries of Justice. "

      Delete
    11. I was wrong - Rainer House the location of Home Office Direct Entry Training until 1983 - was not directly part of The Rainer Foundation -

      There is a write up at the very end of the Sept 83 Probation Journal that prompted correspondence in the December issue.

      The original article headed *Rainer House - Positively Our Last Appearance!* ends: -

      "Whatever loss to the Service may be involved
      in the closure of the course, for me it means the
      end of seven exciting, exasperating, challenging,
      frustrating years of teaching, trying with the other
      tutors to find better ways to teach an impossible
      subject. There seems to have been a myth fostered
      in some quarters that the course had stood still and
      was even now filling people’s heads with nothing
      but Penguin Freud and ‘deep casework’. It may
      be true that the ’radical critique’ was never exactly
      central to our curriculum, but one of the valuable
      lessons for me of being able to stand back from
      the job for a while has been to see just how swayed
      social work practice is by the ebb and flow of
      fashion. What passes for exciting innovation at
      present is in fact a quite uncanny echo of what
      social workers were saying and trying to do in the
      USA in the thirties. What has been taught by all
      the colleagues I have been lucky enough to work
      with here is the importance of respecting the client
      as an individual, trying first to understand how
      he sees the world and then to help him make it a
      little more as he would like it. Whether you try
      to do this in the cheerful chaos of a busy day centre
      or in a reflective interview at the office is surely
      secondary. Going back into the field after my
      seven years training at Rainer House, I hope I can
      do it as well as many of our students have after only
      two.
      GERALD BREDENKAMP
      Training Inspector
      Comments on the Rainer House Course and its
      demise from formerstudents will be welcomed -
      Hon. Ed."

      http://prb.sagepub.com/content/30/3/107.full.pdf+html

      Delete
    12. Good work Holmes! Excellent piece of research Mr A.S.H

      Delete
  2. Apparently the probation email system has been hit by a virus - meaning no emails are to be sent.
    Oasys was updated at the weekend too- only to botch up what was already awful - it seems that assessments and reports completed this morning and yesterday could have been completely lost.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Due to recent performance issues experienced with OASys, you are advised to only undertake essential assessments\PSRs and print off those undertaken since Sunday. Full details have been provided in a communication today. You will be updated on the solution being implemented today."

      Delete
    2. "The Maintainers have just informed us that there is a problem with receiving external email today, and this could escalate to affect internal mail as well so please be aware that mail may not be received as quickly as usual at present.

      The Maintainers will inform us of any update and we will pass that on if we are able.

      Thank you
      Service Desk"

      Delete
    3. No OASys, no email. Apparently Delius was working but no one can tell.

      Delete
  3. Shambolic.

    Somepne needs to tell these companies that, in order to operate ethically and to have strong value base, you need to OPERATE ethically and actually HAVE a strong value base. Just saying it doesn't make it so.

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    Replies
    1. Well said 11.23. Absolutely agree.

      Delete
  4. Interesting to note that the HMP Peterborough job is £400 a year below the 'living wage' - works out at £7.45 an hour. Aldi pay around £7.77 an hour. Hmmmm......

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    1. At this stage I would prefer to work for Aldi!!!

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    2. At this stage there are probably more opportunities to do positive work to improve people's lives at Aldi

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  5. And it will continue that is unless we stand up and fight. The whole thing is planned destruction of state services. The business and political elite control Westminster and they have only their own interest at heart. The best example is the bail out of the banks, the government could have bailed out the people(debt write off's) but no they bailed out their mates and they will do it again when the current bubble bursts. A NAPO key demand should be re-nationalisation of all that has been privatised by New Labour and the Tories. Given that the banks are nationalised we just need them to serve us rather than themselves and the very rich.

    papa

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  6. Colin allars noms head has said that they dont have to sell all 21 package areas for this to go through. Can anyone confirm this? Sounds like changing goal post again

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  7. There is a body of opinion that says they only have sell one. This is all a massive exercise in kitting out the emperor. I am already struggli g with colleagues I respect who seem to be seeing the wardrobe develop. For some of us, however, the Minister is naked and quickly followed by the Ministry. Today's IT crash is another wheel coming off. The slowest train crash in history.

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    1. And probably the most painful and destructive.

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  8. Email received today asking staff to work temporarily in Manchester to help out. Travel time and expenses paid.

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    1. email received today where?

      Delete
  9. "Private cartels run rings round the regulators. Consumers and politicians are bamboozled by commercial secrecy and contractual complexity. Workforces have their pay and conditions slashed. Control of essential services has not only passed to corporate giants based overseas, but those companies are themselves often state-owned – they're just owned by another state. Report after report has shown privatised services to be more expensive and inefficient than their publicly owned counterparts. It's scarcely surprising that a large majority of the public, who have never supported a single privatisation, neither trust the privateers nor want them running their services". - Manchester read this

    ReplyDelete
  10. FROM TWITTER: -

    " Retweeted by sarah brookes
    Jo Mead ‏@JoMeadCX 1h

    Tomorrow, @DLNR_CRC_Prob managers join together at leadership forum - get real, get connected & get help #transforminglivesreducingcrime

    Retweets 3 "

    https://twitter.com/JoMeadCX/status/491672369023688704

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MORE - TR must be working for some"

      " Jo Mead ‏@JoMeadCX 1h

      @langleyowl77 hi Sarah! Pleased to see you
      Details
      Reply
      Retweet
      Favorite

      Sarah Langley ‏@langleyowl77

      @JoMeadCX Thanks Jo ! See you at Leadership Forum tomorrow !

      Reply
      Retweet
      Favorite

      Retweet 1
      Jo Mead

      9:00 PM - 22 Jul 2014
      Tweet text
      Reply to @langleyowl77 @JoMeadCX

      Jo Mead ‏@JoMeadCX 48m

      @langleyowl77 yes, looking forward to it!
      Details
      Reply
      Retweet
      Favorite
      9:09 PM - 22 Jul 2014 · Details "

      https://twitter.com/langleyowl77/status/491674079129501697

      Delete
  11. Can people stop bad mouthing serco? Some of us happen to work for them.

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    Replies
    1. What is your experience of them as an employer? Are you in Unpaid Work?

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    2. Yes and it's no worse than working for probation trust.

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    3. I've said it before and I will say it again. The serco staff are currently far better taken care of than those of us in nps and crc.
      Irony rules.

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    4. Unless you consider the people who DON'T work for SERCO because they lost their jobs.

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    5. em "far better taken care of" cause fiddling figures?

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    6. As people know nearly everyone who lost their jobs under serco took voluntary redundancy and did well for themselves.
      And no not fiddling the figures. I don't mean like that. What I mean is we have all been royally screwed over by staff split. They now have a better staff to offender ratio than we do. A napo union rep told me that. The same rep also told me that they would rather deal with serco than the crc nps people.

      Delete
  12. Andrew S Hatton22 July 2014 21:57 - "managers join together at leadership forum - get real, get connected & get help"

    'Help', a fair comment me thinks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. CompletelyRidiculousandCorrupt23 July 2014 at 00:40

    Just had the 47th TR split re-allocation/transfer case given to me today, I say given....the paper file has been lost/hidden by the temp PSO who ran away last week when their 6 month inactivity on cases looked like it was about to be rumbled.... I told the only available manager within a 20 mile radius I didn't take kindly to inheriting someone else's cock-ups/behind filing cabinet hidey hole and hope no-one notices jobbies in bulk without any form of management review being performed,on them, I don't intend to have another heart attack on the job and went off sick.
    He informed me that I was possibly too passionate about the job and should stop worrying about things which were of of my control.
    I asked him whether he could hear what he was saying, because from where I was sitting all I could hear was Bollocks.....
    Pat W. if you read this...I may need a Rep ;)

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  14. I know there are a lot of you out there on sick with work related stress but I need to know if I'm the first case of dismissal. Feel very isolated and despondent after twenty seven years. Looking to connect with others in the same situation to see if a pattern is emerging or have I been specially chosen?

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    1. Hi anon 19:29 so sorry to hear of your situation.Are you in Unison or Napo? If yes contact your Brsnch Chair to seek advice on appealing your dismissal. If you are not in a Union check any insurance policies you hold ss they often offer initial free legal advice session-some bank accounts also add such services. All the very best and keep in touch by posting on here. There might not be someone else today reading this blog in same position ad you but could be anytime and due to your courage in posting you'll have helped others perhaps feel less alone/stigmatised. P

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    2. I intend to be as courageous as I can particularly to those on sick or under so called capability proceedings. Meanwhile can I encourage everyone to join NAPO I now know that's where I might have gone wrong.

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    3. Very sorry indeed to hear what has happened - I wonder if you would consider writing to me privately and anonymously if you wish in order to share a bit more information? A contact email address is on the profile page.

      Thanks.

      Jim

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  15. Probation Officer24 July 2014 at 01:37

    Sorry to hear what has happened to you. You are not the first, believe me. Trusts seemed to have been avoiding disciplinaries in the run up to 1st June to look attractive to bidders, and this will be the same in the run up to share sale for CRC's. That being said any Trust with an excess of staff in particular department would obviously have been looking at who they can get rid of, or anyone posing a difficulty for them, and this would be the same post-split no matter if you're NPS or CRC. I'd suggest speak to an employment solicitor for advice, and even to Napo HQ for advice as a non-member.

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