Wednesday 29 October 2014

MoJ Announcement

MoJ Press Release:-

A major step towards completing the government’s crucial rehabilitation reforms was taken today, as the organisations that will play a key role in turning round the lives of offenders were announced.

The move paves the way for the launch early next year of Government plans to extend support and supervision post-prison for 45,000 short sentence prisoners who are currently left to walk the streets after their release. Currently almost 60% of these reoffend within a year.

Twenty of the 21 contract areas will be led by new partnerships and joint ventures between private sector firms and some of Britain’s biggest and most successful rehabilitation charities. They will spend a full year after the release of every prisoner working with them to try to stabilise their lives and help prevent them from reoffending. They will work alongside a host of public and private sector organisations to introduce a new and innovative approach to rehabilitation across England and Wales.

Half of the partnerships chosen as preferred bidders also include new “mutual” organisations set up by current probation staff to take over their own organisations. The list of preferred bidders includes 16 charities and voluntary organisations, four probation staff mutuals and seven private companies, all with different expertise to bring to rehabilitation.

In addition, around 75% of the 300 subcontractors named in the successful bids are voluntary sector or mutual organisations, putting them at the frontline of offender rehabilitation as the Government battles against stubbornly high reoffending rates.

There was strong competition for each of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), with bids showing real innovation. This includes proposals for far greater use of new technologies, both to enable frontline staff to work more efficiently and to enhance offender supervision. A wide range of models for mentoring prisoners on release were also put forward, along with extensive new rehabilitation activities, and more targeted services for specific offender groups such as women or those with mental health problems.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said:

These reforms are all about changing lives. We cannot go on with a situation where thousands of prisoners are released onto the streets every year with no guidance or support, and are simply left to reoffend. These reforms will transform the way in which we tackle reoffending.

This announcement brings together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors to set up our battle against reoffending, and to bring innovative new ways of working with offenders. In particular, I am really pleased that we will be deploying the skills of some of Britain’s best rehabilitation charities to help these offenders turn their lives around.

This new approach will not just redouble our efforts to bring down reoffending. It will also prevent many more people from becoming victims of crime in the future.

Contracts have been split across 20 regions for England and one for Wales, and the successful bidders will be responsible for supervising and rehabilitating an estimated 200,000 low and medium risk offenders.

In addition to the preferred bidders, almost 1,000 organisations, including 700 listed as VCSE (voluntary, community or social enterprise) have put themselves forward to work with the chosen providers to develop new ways of reducing reoffending and protecting the public.

Providers will only be paid in full if they are successful at reducing reoffending, helping drive innovation and getting best value for taxpayers.

Along with extending community supervision to all offenders, a nationwide network of resettlement prisons is also being created that will see offenders managed by the same provider from custody into the community, ensuring a proper through-the-gate approach to rehabilitation.

Under this system, CRCs will be required to draw up a plan for an offender’s rehabilitation within the first few days of them entering prison. The same organisation will then continue to support that individual throughout their time in prison, and this will continue as they are released into the community. The focus of the CRCs will be as much on helping ex-offenders sort their lives out as on traditional supervision.

They will also work hand in hand with the public sector National Probation Service, which is tasked with protecting the public from high risk offenders.

24 comments:

  1. Bloody marvellous Sodexo have made a killing here!!!

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  2. List of Preferred Bidders

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368266/table-of-preferred-bidders.pdf

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  3. Did any mutuals win bids?

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  4. Replies
    1. What about Sentinel?

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    2. Mutuals are DTV, Wales, BGSW, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall

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    3. Yes where are they? Perhaps they were MOJ competition fodder, then they could say there was a competition!

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    4. Anon 12.36 refers to anon 12.14 question, What about Sentinel ?

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    5. But how mutual are the Mutuals? Do all employees get a vote? Is it compulsory that one is a member of the Mutual company if one is an employee or are they just not owned by an existing private company?

      What will bedone with the excess income over the expenditure or the losses, if there are any?

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    6. The mutuals are there for one reason only - to justify this process however we should confidently expect them to be baled out by yup, you know it's true, the big multi nationals. My money is on Sodexo being primed to pick 'em up especially DTV...

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    7. To describe Innovation Wessex - aligned with Working Links for much of the west of England and I believe all of Wales - is absurd. This was a small, secretive group of senior managers, originally set up to work in an alliance with the Shaw Trust before they wised up and pulled out of the race. There has been no communication with staff, let alone engagement or effort to secure staff consent to the process. Other areas may have had 'mutuals' as window dressing with some staff discussion, but Innovation Wessex is an outright sham. The losing bidders in those CPAs should take a careful look at the process because if the supposed involvement of a mutual had any bearing on the result, everyone has been had.

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    8. To describe it as a mutual is absurd, I mean. Damn touch screen phones!

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  5. Another MOJ announcement 'Helping Women in Prison'
    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/helping-women-in-prison-maintain-family-links

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  6. Did a tally sodexo * 6 areas. Purple futures * 5. Working links * 3 .mtc nova * 2 rehab company *2. Then 1s including seetec a business technology centre. Thought couldnt have more than 4? Plus no a4e. No capita. Who the hell is purple future

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    Replies
    1. Interserve is Purple Future with Shelter, Addaction, P3? and 3SC?

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    2. P3 are a social enterprise based in Ellesmere Port, that talk alot about social exclusion, and 3sc are a company that bids for government contracts on behalf of the third sector.

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  7. I think the mutua's got used to keep us all quite, had they been smart they wouldn't have played into Graylings hands. Had there been no mutual's they wouldn't have got us passed the split in June. As I said a few days ago the Gov are always a step ahead and that's probably why nothing will come of the JR. I hope I am wrong.

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  8. Sad day for probation. I now work a construction/maintenance company. Judging by the disrepair at our building fills me with fear as to how they will run us.

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  9. Dunno what everyone's moaning about. I'm in a Sodexo CPA and we're all looking forward to some innovation and lessening of bullshit IT systems and processes.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you get what you are looking forward to. I had always thought that I would retire as a probation officer working for the public and look how that worked out. Good luck.

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    2. I'm fully expecting the bullshit IT to continue, as they're going to use Deli-useless to take measurements for PBR!

      Remember all that fancy talk 18 months ago about providing staff with tablets so we could work 'more efficiently'?

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  10. It will be interesting to see how long these companies hold onto the contract before they sell them on to some of the major players. I give it August 2015 before the first.

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  11. Dont be fooled by the new names.....purple is still a big multi national that is subbing to all the others in with them.....some of these subbys will be unbearable! Nacro have been a bit player for some years now they will think they are the cat that got the cream. If I was CRR and MTC amey i would have your lawyers on speed dial ....not that i want you to win but you have been had over by Grayling! SUE HIS ARSE.

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