Friday 17 October 2014

Latest From Napo 41

This is the latest Napo blog published yesterday:-

TR Campaign Update

Following our excellent, united AGM Napo members have returned to the final weeks of the TR campaign to stop the share sale.

Below is a summary of current activity and an outline of our understanding of the competition process.

Napo have received clarification from numerous sources inside the process, including from bidders and Michael Spurr himself, that the last published timetable remains in place. Rumours and local misdirection to the contrary are inaccurate.

We expect:

1. Local preferred bidders to be announced as scheduled between 24th and 31st October. Napo is preparing strong local, regional and national responses for release in parallel with announcements.
2. A period of negotiation known as due diligence will then take place over the preceding 5-8 weeks. This takes place before contracts are signed. NOMS assert that contracts will be signed towards the end of December.

Napo continue to prepare for a potential legal challenge as detailed at the AGM and since. Members have responded brilliantly to our request for support. Conversations are ongoing with sister unions about supporting any potential challenge. A full assessment in regard to the potential success of a legal challenge will be presented to Officers and Officials of all unions by the end of this week. Action, if the advice is positive would commence shortly afterwards. This timetable wouldn't be impacted by any acceleration of the sell-off timetable, although we stress this does not appear to be the case at present.

Napo Officers and Officials want to thank all members for their response to our calls for support throughout this long campaign. We have again, since the AGM, seen the advantage of being an open, accessible union. It is now important that energy and resource are well directed, our nerve and discipline holds and we continue to show Unity in Napo.


Yours sincerely

Napo Officers & Officials


"I always think of the many staff that have worked in the service and retired or are sadly no longer with us. They left us this service to look after and pass to the next generation of probation staff." (Facebook)

21 comments:

  1. THE PRESS WANT TO SPEAK TO US ANONYMOUSLY.

    Joanna Hughes has requests from Simon Israel of Channel 4 news who is doing a feature on TR.

    Can you help - you will be disguised -

    Joanna gave this number to contact : -

    07801 033410

    (I think that maybe direct contact number for Simon Israel of Channel 4)

    Joanna's Email address is: -

    joanna840@googlemail.com

    AND PHONE NUMBER: -

    07854 668050

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    ALSO URGENTLY NEEDED ARE PROBATION WORKERS WILLING TO SPEAK ANONYMOUSLY TO JOURNALISTS VIA NAPO.

    CONTACT TANIA BASSETT

    Email: -

    tbassett@napo.org.uk

    NAPO OFFICE TELEPHONE: -

    020 7223 4887

    MOBILE FOR MEDIA CONTACTS: -

    07904 184 195

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not to confuse anyone - I have just confirmed that Tania is talking about the same programmes as we have been advertising on this blog so no need to contact us both. Anna Riggs' email address is: anna.riggs@bbc.co.uk and she is doing the radio 5 programme. Simon Israel's details email address is simon_israel@icloud.com but you might have to go on tv!

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  3. Update by Twitter from Tania -

    Seems we need to be creative, which I guess probation folk are as our work impacts widely in different ways on different people - including impacts on the workers.(That is my response to this Tweet - you will have your own - but please take a risk if you are having doubts - you might just prompt a question whose answer finally gets TR the attention it deserves and needs): -


    " Tania Bassett ‏@taniabassett

    @Andrew_S_Hatton Yep all good(address/phone details)

    Need different angle for stories though or they will both be dropped. Please keep me in the loop "

    https://twitter.com/taniabassett/status/523078295790047232

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  4. What sort of things exactly are they looking for? In my office there hasn't been major serious harm stuff that's happened and certainly not my supervisees. So would like a bit if guidance please if poss

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  5. I'm such a softie but tears came to my eyes when I read the last para of NAPO's bulletin today- above these comments- 'retired and those no longer with us, left this Service for us to look after and pass to the next generation.'. That very sadly, was so timely as this morning was the funeral of a much respected PO in Nbria, died during the night last week from a sudden heart attack. He was currently working at HMP Nld, otherwise known as Acklington before it was sold to Sudexo..... God bless you Graham, and partner Dawn, also a PO. ML -(one of the retireds but still battling to save the Service, to be passed on, and not murdered by CG- GET ON THE PHONE OR EMAIL OR FACEBOOK OR TWITTER, OR JUST SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS TO TELL RADIO, TV, PAPERS, LAWYERS, MP'S, FRIENDS, OTHER OFFICERS THAT WE ARE GONNA WIN THIS - WITH THEIR HELP!)

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  6. I guess they want stories like those posted here where delays, communication breakdowns, compromised professionalism, lost offenders etc have potentially compromised the ability of staff to protect the public. I would sing like a canary but my role is non operational so it would be third party stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dont be shy. Talk to the journo's. If they dont use your story, it cost you a phone call/email. No big deal. We are far too shy abou tthis stuff

      Delete
  7. It would not be third party stuff, would it?...if you work for a crc or nps, amongst your responsibilities would be to protect the public, so your voice is the same as mine.....sing away.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We need more from Tania than this. What are they looking for? We have it all just let us know what. Perhaps case studies on the offenders CRCs are working with so the public are aware of the man with extreme violence in his past who is hearing voices telling him to hurt people or the sex offender with no acknowledgement of his own risk, or the prolific offender with a long history of knife crime, or the arsonist with mental health issues. The public might want to know that these are the 'low and medium' risk cases private companies will be making money out of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am going to repeat myself: just phone them up/email. The journo's I have spoken to are all really nice decent professionals. They wont harm you, they wont misquote you, if you are anxious about your position they will take it into account. The worst that can happen is you make a two minute call and it doesnt get used

      Delete
  9. I think that programmes evolve organically and I have spoken at length to both Anna Riggs and Simon Israel. With Simon, we spent 2 hours in August trying to find an angle to no avail as nobody would talk because they were scared. Now, people are coming forward so that is why the programmes are being made. That is all I can tell you, but they are about TR and we need to give them something to work with. There is no right or wrong about whether you can tell them something and there is nothing specific they are looking for. If you have a story you can tell of your experiences from the last 4 months then phone them or email and tell them. You will soon know whether you can be helpful or not.

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  10. If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is opportunity for front line operational staff to speak to Journos about sharing the disgrace of the TR shambles...but non op staff rather than let the bravery of such action be carried on the shoulders of a few , do your bit - there is validity in sharing the obscene cost and poor management information that we all find lying on the photo copiers.

      Please don't think this pile of pants relies only on the client facing colleagues ...do your bit share the rubbish that you see everyday that will debunk this ill conceived project. There is plenty of contact details of people across social media who can get information onto the NAPO blog or better still this one.
      Let us all stand together and do our little bit to defeat this mess.

      Delete
    2. Yes let us ALL stand together, Come on MANAGERS now is the time to stand up and be counted. There has been a significant amount of criticism on this blog about managers and their complicity this is your chance to make things right by solidarity and TELLING THE TRUTH. The details of who to contact are here, your voice will add credibility. Look at the chaos you are supposed to manage and how do you feel about the stress POs and PSOs are placed under? How about your stress? But most of all they need to know about the UNSAFE practice.

      Delete
  11. Some NPS OM is presumably going to have to approve or refuse Ched Evans' employment with Sheffield United so as to to comply with his licence conditions. There's an opportunity to raise probation's profile - positively if well handled.

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  12. "I always think of the many staff that have worked in the service and retired or are sadly no longer with us. They left us this service to look after and pass to the next generation of probation staff." (Facebook) Well said, colleague. Captures the poignancy and gravitas of this chapter in history of probation.

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  13. see my comment sent above at 1557 - and do it for Graham!...ML.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Be interesting to see if any serco CP staff go on these programmes esp as it's the best performing CP area in the country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Best performing by what measure?

      Delete
  15. Latest from the pam people...

    " Innovations in Policing Domestic Abuse

    By Cate Bell on Oct 16, 2014 11:18 am

    We’re all familiar with the statistics. Domestic abuse will affect 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime, 2 women a week are killed as a result of domestic abuse and in 2009 the cost to the UK was £16bn. On Tuesday 14th October, The Police Foundation held a conference on innovations in policing domestic abuse – with speakers including Diana Barran MBE (Chief Executive of CAADA) and Alex Marshall QPM (Chief Executive of College of Policing).

    I followed the hashtag #pfdvconf with interest on Tuesday, because an innovative approach to tackling domestic abuse is something the pam people have always felt strongly about. Diana Barran raised three key points of cultural change that need to happen in order to move forward with policing domestic abuse, her first point struck a chord:

    CAADA @CAADA_UK · Oct 14

    1st point on cultural change from @dianabarran: police & partners must manage risk rather than reacting to incident after incident #pfdvconf

    Ineffective risk management is an issue that comes up again and again in discussions about serious topics such as this. Police and partners joining forces in a secure, shared environment to manage and mitigate risk is such an important step forward that really must be taken, but we’re still not seeing enough of it. Those interested in reading more about culture change might consider taking a look at Jasmin McDermott‘s recent article (“Policing must start a ‘culture war’ on domestic violence”).

    Closing remarks from The Lord Dear QPM DL summed the conference up well, stating that a joined up approach, standardisation of data and the moral imperative is key to tackling domestic abuse.

    How will you implement a joined up approach?

    Get in touch today to find out how pam can help "

    http://www.pam-it.com/innovations-in-policing-domestic-abuse/

    ReplyDelete
  16. 'Corruption with a Capital C!'

    The biggest question on this video on the NHS is 'Why is the Media not representing the public interest?' For #Probation and CRC staff that sounds familiar!

    #Probationselloff #Napo #NHS 'Corruption with capital C' this is 2 yrs post H&S'Care Act with Doctors saying there has been a 'tsunami of structural change', #Probation hasn't reached share sale yet and the structural change has been divisive, a must to view for all concerned about forthcoming share sale.

    https://twitter.com/oyama58/status/523270509451313152

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