Latest From Napo 45
Latest e-mail from Napo HQ sent this afternoon:-
Dear Member,
Authorisation given to Lawyers to apply for Judicial Review
Last night on behalf of the Napo Officer Group, I was pleased to issue instructions to our lawyers Slater and Gordon to move to an application for a judicial review of the Secretary of State's plans to sell off 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) formed under the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme. This move, which followed receipt of an inadequate reply to our pre action protocol letter yesterday afternoon, also followed yesterday’s cynical announcement of Preferred Bidders by Chris Grayling, and has received excellent coverage today on the BBC TV News channel and BBC Radio 4, together with numerous regional and social media news outlets.
The application for a judicial review has two strands, a public law angle which includes a call upon the Secretary of State to publish the results of his testing processes so that he can evidence it is safe to proceed to a share sale of the CRCs, which he has thus far refused to do, and to ensure the new processes operate to protect the safety of the public and service users; and a potential private law angle which relates to a lack of duty of care by the employer to ensure the safety of staff.
Ministers in total self-denial
On Radio 4 this morning Justice Minister Simon Hughes wrongly claimed that ‘the TR programme had been piloted and that the government had taken its time with the TR reforms.’ We will of course be challenging this, but it is more vital than ever that members alert their Members of Parliament to the facts about the disastrous TR agenda, citing that from the outset how the splitting of the probation service into a National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies has had a seriously damaging impact on services, and that there had been no piloting of the new model prior to national roll out. The significant IT failures and the chaotic operational lack of infrastructure has undermined the supervision of offenders, placed staff at direct risk of harm and has significantly increased the risk to communities and the public at large.
This is a major step for Napo but given the MoJ’s refusal to listen or act on our concerns we have been left with no other option but to take legal action against the Secretary of State in order to try and prevent an irreversible disaster.
Finally, can I thank members for their tremendous messages of support for Napo they are much appreciated and we need to build on the unity that we have established even more in the coming weeks.
Ian Lawrence General Secretary and the Napo Officer Group
And there we have it :) game on.....
ReplyDeleteWorth reposting. As one commenter pointed out, how on earth can we expect them to uphold Probation values?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/18/sodexo-military-contract-racism-allegations
As another commenter said about Sodexo, 'be afraid, be very afraid'.
I really hope NAPO raise this in their review just to highlight what a vile and poisonous bunch of barstewards Sodexo are.
I am truly shocked at this and more so at Grayling giving them ANY contract For him to claim that he knew nothing about this is just downright lies.
I'll e-mail my mp regarding this issue (maybe others could do the same), because I think it should be asked of the government why such a disgraceful company should be their prefered bidder on such a lucrative contract, and why it's even considering giving a contract to a company steeped in such scandals even before they start the job.
DeleteInfact keith vaz may be the person to contact on the matter.
Unfortunately I'm not on Twitter but could I ask that is someone (anyone) is could they please tweet this? Actions like this need to be exposed otherwise the grow and fester. I actually feel physically sick at the thought of companies and executives of this ilk having ANYTHING at all to do with the Probations Service.
DeleteNoticed some typos. Apologies but the dialogue box on the Iphone is not that large.
Deletemy MP is Joe Benton so it's an absolute waste of time. Doesn't vote on anything
DeleteMy MP is Geoffrey Cox - Tory, the highest earning MP (over(£300k) as a barrister and a tax avoider, alleged in google.
DeleteGrayling is the biggest liar on this planet., and yes we all need to be afraid, he will probably wriggle himself out of the JR, we need industrial action to back up JR. Throw it all at them, they devastated and belittled us all with the shafting process and broke down a world class service for their own greed, for one moment I want him to feel as I did working for 30 years in a job with my name picked out of a hat to be told I can no longer do the job I trained for and worked for many years. Furthermore, the service also started playing games dishing out contracts to agency workers and newly qualified staff with little experience and excluding those shafted into CRC's, the CEO's should hold their heads in shame along with Grayling.
ReplyDeleteWell done Napo....it is only together that we can do this....financially and otherwise
ReplyDeleteHurrah! and THANK YOU! I hope the examining Judge reads this blog the (s)he will be on no doubt about the truth of what is going on written by practitioners who dare not speak out in public!
ReplyDeleteThe police, solicitors and judges despise Grayling as much as we do. I know we cant all go on strike but can we think up some sort of collective action in which we can all contribute. Lets sent the MOJ and the government a clear message about the corruption at the top and at the heart of the state
ReplyDeletesounds like a plan
DeleteI am up for that .
ReplyDeleteIf there is more evidence needed to support JR and the safety issues please start asking the new TPO's their opinions. Word has it that they have been sent off to various corners of probation with no plan in place, no sufficient bodies around to either meet, greet or support. Then some apparently on their second day told to interview high risk offenders!!! Are NOMS and MOJ for real. How dangerous is this practise? They should and must deserve better than this and whilst its not their fault CRC and NPS are still doing the 'work arounds' and fudging over the cracks of this split. Our buisness of risk needs appropriate and stringent training and with this divide once 'work arounds' stop I,m sorry TPOs i really dont think you are going to get that. From PO's all over the country im sure we can all quite sincerly say please, please be careful out there. We are worried for your safety if the start of your training this month is anything to go by.
ReplyDeleteNot helped by most (all?) Learning & Development staff being placed in CRCs - presumably there's some central Civil Service dept that think they can do the job instead?
Deleteon a recent home visit the client locked me in. He closed the door, turned the mortice key and removed it from the lock and put the key in his pocket. Imagine how you'd feel. How would you react. Feel scared?? Yep I did too. I didn't sit down, kept the conversation light and told him I was running late and X was expecting me.
DeleteI was let out with no problem but just goes to show how even low risk can suddenly make you feel very, very frightened.
Can't help wondering why this is being allowed to follow the process and consequences that have applied to the NHS.... seems to me we are approx 5 years behind.....managerialism...fragmented service...the people who actually do the work demoralised, overworked poorly paid ...what happened...what's happpening now....
ReplyDeleteMachines..process maps and targets do not improve peoples health nor do they stop people committing offences..
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/pay-cuts-cards-arrowe-park-8019337
Delete84 jobs shrinking to 18. Well actually the jobs are still there its just that the NHS bosses have decided that they are being overpaid and so all 84 have to apply for their jobs - 18 will stay in situ and the other 66 will drop down a scale losing up to 6.5k per annum. As is the norm it's the lower graded surgical staff and not the surgeons who are losing out. This will be CRC soon.
This happened to Gwalia in Wales. Staff with many years service were given new contracts to sign and if they didn't they lost their job. Resulted in some staff having 5k pay reduction. Just waiting for Working Links to do the same.
DeleteIts only my opinion, but I think Grayling will be the master of his own distruction.
ReplyDeleteHe has in his own mind become omnipotent, the ruler of his own empire, and as such he can do whatsoever he wants. Question anything he wants to do or he says and you become the enemy, a leftwing loony. He is busy trying to create his perfect state, ideologically perfect where only the perfect belong.
I think he's quite a sick man, and the nations begining to realise that.
He'll take a massive tumble very soon, and maybe what becomes public from a TR JR, will be what pushes him over the edge.
I truly hope it does push him over the edge so he gets an idea of how he has made us feel over the last couple of years. I am truly sickened by the way he operates and how he has been allowed to get away with it. If u look at the bidders there seems to be all sorts of strange things going on. Working links for example is part owned by the government !! How is that right ?
Delete"I truly hope it does push him over the edge" - lol love that, so gentle yet so much venom lol .. excellent
DeleteThat's me gentle with a sting
DeleteI hear they want to recruit another 1000 trainees for January 2015...not enough Practice Developmnt Assessors and once taken on they can be sent anywhere up to 1 hour and 15 mins from their home and when trained who knows!
ReplyDeleteYes the MOJ are using Facebook as part of the PR exercise: -
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/ProbationGraduateDiploma
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/18/sodexo-military-contract-racism-allegations
ReplyDeleteAnd Grayling want's these ppl to run probation & rehabilitate ppl. ye right.
Bravo
ReplyDeleteSimon Garden
There is a website where MOJ are spinning dreams for those they are trying to recruit as trainees: -
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/ProbationGraduateDiploma/posts/730717743632233
What about a letter from the disgruntled in the Justice System to the Press outlining our reason for despair. Is there anything to stop this? It would be powerful if the police , judges and solicitors pulled together. NAPO press people should get on to this.
ReplyDelete1 question will there still be opportunities with engagement officers or will that be abolished. Plus what will happen to the ones already in employment.
ReplyDeleteThanks in advance
What's engagement officers?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/may/18/london-probation-trust-employing-ex-offenders
Deletehttps://twitter.com/m_s_quinn/status/527939129892671488
ReplyDeleteThe best kept secret in TR - Chief Insp of Probation married to the Deputy Managing Director of Sodexo Justice Services
Is this true?
http://reformingprisons.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/is-inspectorate-up-to-task-of-alerting.html?spref=tw&m=1
DeleteIn the case of the Chief Inspector of Probation, there is no requirement that the post holder is drawn from outside the service which he or she inspects. Most have been former senior probation staff. Paul is a former Chief Executive of NACRO, the charity which will henceforth play a major role in the probation landscape which he will inspect. NACRO (for whom incidentally I worked from 1989 to 2000) has been named as the preferred bidder in six Community Rehabilitation Company areas.
DeleteNACRO’s partner is Sodexo, whose deputy managing director is Janine McDowell, who is a close relative of Paul. I have no reason at all to question the integrity of either Paul or Janine, whom I have met, like and respect as professionals. But I do think there is a potential for a perceived if not actual conflict of interest. It needs addressing at the very least by greater transparency and in future by recruiting Chief Inspectors from outside the world of probation and community rehabilitation companies.
Above is extract from the reforming prisons blogspot.
DeleteTo be clear - Mr McDowell, former Nacro Chief exec, is now HM Inspector Of Probation, a person who SoS Grayling quotes as having no issue or concern with the probation split or TR.
DeleteMs McDowell (wife? Sister? Mother? Of...) is Deputy Managing Director of Sodexo Justice Services, who have just been awarded six preferred bidder spots in the probation sell-off. Ms McDowell moved into Sodexo Justice Services in 2007 - the point at which New Labour Govt passed the Act Grayling has just used to expedite TR. What did she do up to 2007?
I wonder who Sodexo's partner is in the six bids? A charity called NACRO perhaps?
What's that we can smell?
Perhaps the leather interior of a brand new matching pair of his&hers Porsches?
DeletePerhaps the fresh paint on a newly acquired country pile?
Maybe the aroma of a Michelin-starred Celebratory meal being prepared?
Seems Ms McDowell made her name within the prison service, then moved to UKDS to run Bronzefield. At some point she was at HMYOI Feltham.
DeleteBronzefield was a purpose-built establishment which opened in 2004. Originally run by UKDS (private company UK Detention Services), then Kalyx, then Sodexo. I suspect (to be confirmed) that UKDS became Kalyx which then became Sodexo.
DeleteGood old wikipedia - ukds became kalyx and then renamed itself Sodexo Justice Services in 2011.
Deletehttp://a1538.g.akamai.net/7/1538/13355/v001/homeoffice.download.akamai.com/13355/Doc/1013/101300946.pdf
DeleteParagraph 30 Of the above document makes for interesting reading - it makes a direct & unambiguous link between limited or no information about prisoners and risk of serious harm. Maybe should have re-read her own evidence before jumping on the TR gravy train?
DeleteAlso a later paragraph (39 perhaps?) shows McDowell has no problem in pointing the finger at her staff, accusing them of malingering or avoiding work by taking advantage of the geography of the establishment.
Off topic and in response to Anonymous30 October 2014 20:18
ReplyDeleteOne of my social work friend, going back some several years, did a home visit to a client’s house. He inherited the case from another colleague who had left. The social worker went with another colleague as a back-up. He went inside the house whilst his colleague was sitting in the vehicle waiting for him.
My friend went into the house. The client locked the door behind them. Forced him into the back room and aggressively made him sit on the couch. The client went into the kitchen and picked up a knife. The client then got my friend to ring his colleague (still sitting in the car unaware of what was going on) and after two bells ended the call. The colleague in the car assumed it was bad reception or the phone battery had gone dead. Made the decision to go knock on the door. The client opened the door and encouraged him to enter. Once inside he locked the door behind him. He then started what can only be described as a vicious assault on both of the social workers. My friend received a knife wound across his face and lacerations to his hands from trying to take the knife off the client. After a lengthy struggle both eventually managed to smash the back window and escape. The client was arrested and convicted for the offence. My friend was left with a scar across his face which required several operations and plastic surgery. He went off sick and was eventually discharged from duty. He was not in a fit state of mind to deal with any employment issues. With the help of his union he eventually fought a long and tiring battle with his employers to get some compensation due to a poor risk assessment made by the previous social worker. After some time which included several hearings and enquiries into his complaint. He managed to secure meaningless compensation, very little compared with his loss. He has never worked since and rarely goes outside in public.
I remember him saying that what he went through with his employers was more traumatic then the actual assault by the client. He described how he was belittled, humiliated, his practice was questioned and his professional judgement was questioned. He went onto tell me, that after receiving the compensation, how his life had become absolute hell because he was required to sign a confidential clause making it virtually impossible for him to share his story with anyone outside. This added to his trauma.
Now imagine probation being privatised and something like this occurs. Who will protect the worker from these powerful multi-corporate companies? They are accustomed to fighting law suites and have the best legal advocates that money can buy. What about the worker, her/his rights, dignity? Since the service was split, I have witnessed breakage of information, risk assessments not completed, cases transferred without any idea of the persons background, cases without an allocated officer. It’s an absolute nightmare and staff are being forced into positions which is compromising their health and safety. That’s why I’m fighting Grayling and that’s why I urge everyone to do the same?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2814070/Prison-staff-attacks-8-year-high.html
ReplyDeleteI know its the mail but if they are saying it much as they have a thing for grayling and punishment must be bad if they mention it
Grayling already has 2 judicial reviews against him, but It doesn't seem to stop him.
ReplyDeleteSeetec kss being investigated for fraud, this government is gaining quite a reputation for the way they behave towards the disabled.
I too have been silenced by the Probation Service - I signed an agreement - I can't speak out - sure there must be more like me???
ReplyDeleteSigned an agreement about what?
DeleteIs that in a code of conduct?
DeleteI should think he/she is referring to a confidentiality clause and is a reference to the account previously re the social worker.
DeleteStruggling to see social services or police being in a hurry to invite working links or sodexo to attend cp conference or marac.
ReplyDeleteThis from 2011. Paul McDowell on Nacro's future strategy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYGZoE-7a04&t=0m41s
ReplyDeletePurple Futures? Is it just me? Sounds like a Heavy Metal tribute band!!
ReplyDeleteYup, the colour one is left when battered and bruised.....seems apt don'tcha think?
ReplyDeleteReading all this makes me feel even more sick than I did already. But I continue to read because I then tell people, anyone, what is happening to our criminal justice system. Grayling is smashing it with his brick in order to reassemble it into something that more visibly reflects his own idea of justice - a system subserviant to, and under the control of, central government - who see themselves as Directors of UK plc. I see the results of this widescale mismanagement in court on a daily basis. Professionals being treated appallingly and who talk about their anger, frustration and despair. It is surreal, but frighteningly so. The worst is yet to come - I envisage defendants sentenced en masse by magistrates without reports leaving it to NPS and CRCs to sort out the ever increasing chaos and mess. The risks to the public are huge. I do think that on some level Grayling understands this but does not care, because we don't matter. In fact, these unsavoury businesses will thrive only if they create more offending, more victims. What other private entity starts out with its main aim as reducing production, reducing customers?
Delete