Sunday 23 November 2014

TR Week Twenty Five

Is it me or does anyone else think it's strange the wall of silence from the winning bidders? Maybe they don't want to antagonise the losers and again I also think their silence is strange too.....

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It's because they aren't winning bidders yet. They are preferred bidders, but they are essentially still part of an active competition. The bidders can still drop out and the MoJ can still decide not to contract with them. No one is going to say anything substantive until contracts are signed.

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The competition isn't over until contracts are signed and share sale happens in February. Until then there will understandably be limited amount heard from the mercenaries in waiting.

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Chris Grayling is not taking responsibility for the prison crisis, neither is the government holding him to account. They are all complicit in this, they are all in it together. 

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He accounts for the problem in prisons by placing the blame on the prisoners. Not me Guv, my hands are clean. It's those nasty Proles, coming in here with their rights and all that. Don't they know that I don't give a f*ck?

If he could make it a criminal offence to 'self inflict death' (it's suicide you immoral bastard!!!) he would. 


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I understand Chris Grayling used to work for Burson Marsteller, a global public relations company. Go on folks, have a look at the Wiki entry, I particularly enjoyed the reference to BM being subject to "protest and criticism for its use of smearing and doubt campaigns" .....so that's where he learnt his dark arts....

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My CRC are discussing using Social Workers to replace disappearing POs. Their qualifications are acceptable and, with some sort of conversion training, they would be welcomed.

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Regular readers will have noted that EPIC has adverts for Social Workers on there, highlighted here a couple of weeks ago, it's interesting!

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If it was easier for CQSW qualified probation staff to register/demonstrate professional competence then they would fill some posts.

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Thé government have already got troubled families waiting in the wings to fill the gaps.

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Grayling will get his platoon of old lags to plug the gaps, perhaps recruited by Old Chums Archer, Black & Aitken.

CQSW & DipSW qualified POs spend £hundreds & minimum 12 months registering despite their probation background, whilst the old lags just walk in through the back door with MoJ approval. Sweet!!


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How can the HMPI say anything negative about TR in his report? To do so would put his wife's company at risk of loosing £millions of government contracts. So there will be no truths from him.

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In Northumbria CRC, all is tickety boo, unless you look at the never before seen and ever rising sickness levels, which as management are happy to tell us, is due to stress. But hey all will be solved by downloading an app. Who needs human contact as we are all just numbers!! Like voting on the Xfactor app, but without a right to an opinion!

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Couldn't face work today, not all that well. At one time I would have gone in, not now. They need to come and spend à week in one of our offices. They'd soon see the chaos they've created.

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Of course NOMs are saying the publishing of these figures are a one off. Any future measurements for the profit making companies will not have to worry about these. They'll have he goal posts widened for them. One quick change will be the removal of the current OASys. They won't have staff spending hours on it, plus the RoSH completed by NPS will assess the risk issues. Job done as far as they will be concerned.

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The MoJ statistics have their flaws, but overall don't they seriously challenge the narrative of probation as being in meltdown, of staff leaving in droves, of high sickness levels, of performance being on the floor? It is fair to raise arguments about quality and shifting criteria, but court reports have been receiving the 'expediting' treatment for years and SFO criteria has been revised many times. The MoJ figures do not lend any credence to 'service in crisis' assertions, perhaps because probation staff have been adept at workarounds, taking on sessional work and keeping up goodwill.

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In a word no. Not all that can be measured counts, and not all that counts can be measured. If you had hundreds of staff saying something is not working, would it be prudent and defensible to ignore this? What needs to be put into perspective is the fact that TR has only being going for a few months and it's fair to say that all is not going to plan. Factor in that the CRC's will be run by mainly inexperience people (those at the most senior level probably have little experience) as well as the empirical evidence that those who get these form of contracts inevitably end up making a pigs ears of things, and you can see why the concern exists. 

Now, when people start dying due to these mistakes, it's those who said and did nothing that some may also level blame at. Probation IS in meltdown. I know, I'm there, trying my best to do my job with 101 new PI's every month. Yes targets are being hit but the point is very clearly being missed!


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Inspection due next month in the North West, anywhere else? Usual bollocks REQUESTED by managers. Check your cases that could be in there. Cook the books with acceptable retro entries please, as much as you can. Let's make it appear as if all is well eh? Not a fucking chance, they will see it as it is in our office. 

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We had an inspection a few weeks ago just CRC. Most of us told him how It is, he said "I know."

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We have a Safeguarding audit as well (North West) and we've been given the heads up about what cases etc.

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Yes, ours was safeguarding. We had really short notice so didn't really do anything extra with the cases. I did go to review the OASsys the day before then decided not to bother. I'm not managing to do initial OASsys, so why would I do a review because we're being inspected?

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SFOs take a while to happen and for people to be charged. Would like to see the data for July/August to October instead. Bet it shows a whole different picture.

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Why bother with the stress? If your workload is over 150 per cent, tell your manager that this equates to over 17 hrs per week and that you will do 37 as contracted unless they pay you for extra hours or they guarantee toil. Do not work extra hours and when something is missed, tell them what your workload is over and over and repeat until they retire to their office, hold their head in their hands and cry buckets! Do it tomorrow and watch the stress evaporate. 

Put a collective grievance in, tell them you will not stand it anymore. Tell them you will not accept it anymore. Tell them you will fight TR to the death, we are nearly there. Don't lose face, never give up. We will win this, I can guarantee this! Displace your EXTRA responsibility back on them and remember the mantra of Pass it up, Pass it up, Pass it up! I am not in the union and on over 200 per cent and as chilled as a bottle of Chardonnay in the freezer! It's easy, it's not your fault, it's impossible to do it all. Don't let anybody tell you it!

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It would be helpful if you could provide a template of the grievance steps you took to tackle excessive workloads, the management response and the actual outcome.

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The steps were simple and straight forward. All it took was one person sending a collective e-mail asking each person what he/she could not do. We did our own workload check from the old existing data log. We then all signed a collective letter which was effectively a vote of no confidence highlighting what we felt we could not do within our contracted hours and all said we will be working our hours and no more. 

Highlighted a number of actions such as paid overtime instead of toil etc. Threatened to withdraw flat rate report writing. Got the union to have a meeting with the Chief. Chief responded and agreed to overtime being paid. Got extra staff in from quieter areas. Still not come up with the goods in telling us what we can no longer do, so next step formal collective grievance which we all put our names to. Certain things put in place but the view is too little, too late.

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Re-alcohol bracelets. I hope they are going to have good assessors. For some it is dangerous to just stop drinking..

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I see in the USA up to 80% of the costs of alcohol bracelets are borne by the wearer. And effectiveness is linked to participation in alcohol treatment/support programmes.

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I was just reminiscing about when supervision, was just that - tailor made for the individual and their consent to the making of such an order was crucial. When Attendance Centres were for 'football hooligans' to stop them attending home games - that's why they are 1.45 - 4.45 every other Saturday and Electronic Monitoring was to ensure night time burglars were tucked up in their own beds, and not entering those of others.

Now it's not about the clients, victims or the general public, but for profit; to generate income for the few, at the expense of the many. That 'means test' re Criminal Court Charge - I hope it works better than the one devised in 1991, when it was decided that the amount of the fine should reflect the clients ability to repay - that worked, or did it? I don't recall any departure from the Magistrate's Sentencing Guidelines, and they made no allowance for the income of the client before them.

I am getting so despondent, and just wish a crater would open up and swallow CG and his Government. Just how much pain do they want to inflict on people? At least I am on leave this week, and I will now go and do something to take my mind off this.


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I've read recently too, that IDS is trying get a restriction placed on the prescription of methadone for addicts, and instead use more 'holistic' methods of treatment. Is is of course an attempt to 'save' the user a lifetime of unemployment he boasts. No doubt Graylings friends in companies such as Sodoxo or Working Links or Interserve would be given the contracts to provide such 'holistic' therapy. I hate this government, its just a 'rich leach' on the rest of society.

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In my area CRC told can't apply for secondment NPS jobs because they can't spare Band 4s. Somehow I don't think Working Links will see it that way. Still, the senior manager won't have to worry - no doubt EVR available to them, just sod everyone else - need to make sure targets are met pre Feb 2015. Bastard.

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I think may also be worry about what guarantees there are about what CRC jobs would be at end of secondment period with NPS

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I kind of like it when someone goes 'off message'. TR is a worthy headline issue and the future of probation work is important. There were many working in probation who argued that it went off message itself when it went corporate and embraced a target and performance culture. That was the zeitgeist and I don't think the public services could do much about it. The road to TR was a long one and in part the probation service obediently marched towards the gunfire.

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The truth is that Con/Libs have made such a mess of everything, in such a cavalier way, whether its legal aid, prisons or probation, in attempt to dupe the electorate, that they no longer have any idea of whats going on or how to turn things around. All they know is that they've made a huge mess. Unfortunately, even if they pulled the plug on all these disasterous reforms, you're left with Humpty Dumpty syndrome, "all the kings horses and all the kings men, didn't know how to put Humpty back together again".

And that's another truth. Everything so broken by incompetence, and lack of foresight, and just plain stupidity, it would be almost impossible to get everything back in order again. Together the Con/Libs have destroyed a fully functioning CJS, where there's no benefit for anyone, least of all for the 'hard working tax payer'. Shame on the lot of you!!


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Where is Grayling?- his absence is like watching Psycho without the shower scene!

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Simon Hughes wants an end to sentences of less then 12 months? Will that mean fewer people going to prison? Or more people being sentenced to 12 months or longer? It strikes me that there's a time bomb for the prisons ticking away within society at the moment, one which is about to have its fuse shortened.

That bomb is that how ever many people are in prison, there's at least the same amount on licence serving the second half of their sentence in the community and another 60,000 to be added with the <12 month group, all subject to recall. The prison population is not only governed by those being sent there by the courts, but also by the number subject to breach proceeding by probation service.


In a world of profit making enterprise, it cannot be long before private companies realise that they have considerable influence on the ebb and flow of numbers on an already stretched and crisis ridden prison service. That to me would seem to give the private sector considerable negotiating power over the MoJ when they find their contract difficult to deliver on. Just a thought!


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Looking at internal NPS Probation Officer jobs. Got the following response 'Unfortunately we can not proceed with your application as this vacancy is only open to surplus staff'. How many surplus Probation Officers are there within the Civil Service? Utter madness.

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I think Graylings silence over the past few weeks is very telling. Indeed, the only reference to him I can find in todays press is about the decline in the use of cautions. In the last 3 months, he's lost several JRs, probation bidders have pulled out, theres been 2 murders in the prison system, (god knows how many suicides), he's been brought to account several times by the PAC, least of all for the huge amount spent on consultation fees for TR, had constant criticism for his unnecessary and dark ages prison reforms and book ban, had to say sorry for recording confidential phone calls between prisoners and their MPs, he's been turned on by his own party very publicly in the commons (called a tyrant!) amid never before seen uproar in the Commons over his dodgy underhand approach to the EAW, and been asked to account for the number of empty prisons and court houses littered around the country costing tens of thousands a month. 

One court house in Stoke is occupied now for several days by protesters complaining about its closure, and insult to injury, an empty court house in Harringay is now occupied by squatters with a number of large dogs that keep neighbours awake at night. His own local newspaper in Epsom is one of his worst critics, and the prison governor of High Down prison has announced to the world from the witness box that the MoJ have admitted getting things wrong, despite telling the public the total opposite, and calling concerned charities 'left wing agitators for questioning his policies. 

There's much, much more too! I have a feeling that someone, a bit more important than Grayling in the Party, and who can't be bullied by him has had a few words, and that's why Graylings had to "wind his neck in" of late. He's an embarrassment to his party, and a liability to the CJS and the nation.

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Rochester & Strood - what a hoot. I'm not a ukip fan by any stretch but they are exposing the mainstream parties for the false fools they truly are. Gove got roasted by Eddie Mair (R4), Lucy Powell led a merry dance by Krishnan (C4)... Tories & Labour desperate as to who can offer the warmest embrace to Rochester's now famous Sun reader with his van & St George flags. 

Politics is in total disarray, directionless, lost in the wilderness. He's just a bloke who lives in a house who drives a van - presumably to earn a living. Comment was made when his mate showed up earlier (when BBC news were doing a piece) in his Chelsea Tractor. So what? They're just people. Now it seems those who were killed in Cadogan Sq were "Polish workers". So fuckin what? They were people; sons, maybe fathers, maybe brothers. Politics is eating itself alive. The Media is providing the garnish.

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Today I had to pass a case over to the NPS due to an escalation in risk. I completed the necessary form yesterday, waited until today for a response, when I was told it had been accepted by the NPS. I was also told I could no longer make an entry on Delius or complete an OASys review! 

Seems stupid to me that prior to the split I would have had a consultation with my SPO, raised risk to high, reviewed OASys and maintained management of the case as I am the person with the knowledge and experience. Now it is out of my hands and I have information that can't be passed on to the new OM... how is this managing risk, or providing end to end management?? Frustrated.com

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I have made this point many times by posting on this blog as a case allocator.

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Information considered crucial to understanding risk can be passed on in a letter.

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No, that is not correct. Any information should be contained within the risk escalation tool, that is the assessment in it's entirety. To start writing letters to pass on risk information merely supports the point I am making, it is not fit for purpose. It is cumbersome, time consuming, rolled out without training and DANGEROUS.

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I have a female case with Personality Disorder who has committed a further offence and pre split would have, as others have pointed out, managed her increase in risk myself. If I go through the risk escalation process she will be sent to another office and of course be seen by a new officer. In this case I know it will increase her risk even further and therefore in a dilemma!

59 comments:

  1. Just remember share sale will be occurring a couple of days after JR

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  2. SURELY DEPENDS ON THE OUTCOME OF JR!

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    1. unfortunately not, i can see grayling thinking "bollox to that i'll sign anyway."

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  3. 9.23 refers to 9.10

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  4. I think NAPO will have a contingency plan for such a rash act. He's pulled their pants down once, I doubt that they'll let him again.

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    1. JR is not challanging the sell off, so to my mind Grayling will forge ahead and sign the contracts.
      I think any decison JR should bring in favour of NAPOs challange, is of far more concern to the bidders then Grayling (albeit Grayling may get his knuckles rapped).
      However, for Grayling to go ahead and get the contracts signed, he's handing any complications that JR brings over to the private companies.

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  5. And what exactly will happen if JR is proved in NAPOs favour. Nothing. Contracts will still be signed same way.

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    1. What has the point then been of the JR.

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    2. We're working on the assumption that companies will WANT to sign when there is a pending JR, the outcome of which is unknown.

      Would you given that any outcome against TR may be detrimental or change the T&C's of the contract you have just signed, in the full knowledge of what is going on. I think you would have little recourse to changing things once you found out that those magic beans were not really that magic. Or indeed beans!!

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    3. The point is Napo could not allow the the destruction of the profession without putting up a legal challenge of some sort.

      The jury is still out as to what the real reasons were for putting off a legal challenge on possibly as many as eight previous occasions and whether any of them might have had better merit. All that will have to wait for the inevitable post mortem, including hearing from former insiders like Tom Rendon and Harry Fletcher as to what the hell was really going on behind the scenes.

      That's history though, and we are where we are. Lets just keep calm and wait to let the lawyers earn their money and put up as good a fight as possible on our behalf.

      With respect, there's not a lot of point in asking the same questions about what will happen if we win or not because none of us know with any degree of certainty. We are not privvy to the tense negotiations going on behind the scenes at Petty France and what the big boys in particular are trying to screw out of the MoJ. And then there's just 'events'. Politics is as much about luck as anything. Grayling's luck may have all been used up and something - we know not what - could come along and kybosh the whole thing.

      At times like this I like to think of metaphors and films in particular. Throughout this whole mess I've often quoted to Joanna a scene from Force 10 From Navarone. Pipe-smoking explosive expert Edward Fox places and detonates the charges deep within the dam - but nothing happens. Puffing quietly on his pipe he says 'Patience dear boy, patience - nature needs time to have it's effect' or something to that effect....

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  6. I feel the same. In the early days, I was under the impression that a win at JR would mean everything would stop and over time we would merge back. However, now it is clear that this will not be the case. Unfortunately the irreversible damage has now been done.

    Can anyone give any potential positive outcomes that may happen if we win JR because at the moment our office are all feeling really low and wondering what's the point.?

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  7. Off topic, but I think the third sector may yet cause significant issues for TR.

    http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/18619/lesley-anne_alexander_criticises_arrogance_of_politicians_who_believe_charities_must_learn_from_private_sector#.VHG0Q7sRf5Y

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    1. Lesley-Anne Alexander, chief executive of RNIB, yesterday said she had a “struggle with the arrogance” of politicians, including the minister for civil society, who believe charities must learn from private companies.

      Alexander told the annual conference of chief executives' body Acevo that she thought the general understanding of the sector by politicians was low, and that the sector deserved better support from Parliament.

      And she appeared to criticise a speech by Rob Wilson, minister for civil society, who had addressed Acevo’s annual dinner the previous night.

      “I’d like to see better support and understanding from politicians," she said. "I’d like a minister for the sector of whom we can be proud. I want a minister who doesn’t think we need masterclasses from the private sector.

      “I struggle with the arrogance of the idea that we need to learn from the private sector. Who should we be learning from? Banks? Woolworths? Insurance companies?”

      She said all sectors had something they could learn from one another, and should work more closely together, but it was not a one-way process.

      “The general election returned to us many politicians who didn’t understand the work we do in the voluntary sector,” she said. “They don’t understand the safety net we provide when the state fails.”

      She said she had seen five ministers for civil society, and that “some were more impressive than others”.

      She said she wanted the government to reduce regulation, and that charities were regulated by far too many organisations, ranging from the Privy Council to the Care Quality Commission to the Pensions Regulator to HM Revenue & Customs.

      “I burn too much charitable overhead on this when I should be – I almost said doing the knitting – helping needy beneficiaries,” she said.

      Alexander also said that she felt that charitable beneficiaries “have not seen the worst of the recession”.

      She said there were still tens of billions of pounds of cuts to be made to public spending, and a significant proportion of this would be passed down to the sector.

      “I think the organisations supporting them are going to have one hell of a struggle on their hands over the next Parliament,” she said.

      “There will be an increase in the work you do because government spending cuts will hurt the people who rely on charities disproportionately.”

      Alexander also said that charities “were having to invest more in fundraising to bring in the same amount of money” and that they therefore could not rely on fundraising income to cover any shortfall.

      She also said charities needed to do more to serve their beneficiaries.

      “We ourselves need to be better,” she said. “We need to collaborate better. We need to stop picking fights with each other. Those are the easy fights. If we’re arguing with each other, we aren’t spending our energy tackling society’s really big problems.”

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    2. Chris Mould, chair of the Trussell Trust, who also spoke at the event, said that his charity had “seriously questioned” whether it was worthwhile engaging with government and campaigning to change public sector behaviour.
      He said that engagement with the Department for Work and Pensions had been extremely difficult, and that he was now “ambivalent” about whether it was worth attending meetings with government bodies.

      He said that this week his organisation, together with Oxfam and the Child Poverty Action Group, had published a detailed report about the reasons people went to food banks, but it had received little interest.

      “If we published a report saying that hospitals were failing and people were dying it would get a reaction,” he said. “We published a report saying that benefits services were failing and people were going destitute, and it didn’t get a reaction.”

      Mould urged the Charity Commission not to “water down” guidance on political campaigning.

      “When we were criticised before we were able to say to people, ‘you haven’t understood the law, read this’,” he said. “It’s been helpful at putting people making public comments back in their box.”

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  8. I did not want to be privatised at all. But I can't help wondering if it would have been better for us to be sold as a complete entirety rather than the split. Keep strong and care for each other. Blessings to you all.
    I did not want to be privatised at all. But I can't help wondering if it would have been better for us to be sold as a complete entirety rather than the split. Keep strong and care for each other. Blessings to you all.

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  9. Sorry so used to having to cut and paste at work rather than losing valuable work. Repeated myself x

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    1. I know the feeling! It's worth repeating and take care.

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  10. One very serious consequence for Grayling that 'may' come from JR, is that he may not have been very honest with the private sector about the true nature of the risks involved.
    If that was true, then bidders may pull out or want to negotiate contracts again (greater risks= greater wonga), and its all time consuming.
    There can be no doubt I think, that JR will reveal information, that the bidders will be just as interested in as probation services are.
    Perhaps being aware of this is part of the reason Graylings been silent of late?
    However, until such a time as JR is heard, regardless of personal opinions and observations, all we can do is speculate.

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    1. Bidders are just as aware of the potential risks as Grayling, possibly more so. Most, if not all, of the bidders will have bought in advice from probation professionals who will have no reason not to give honest opinions on the nature of the risk, without political spin. They will have priced for that risk already and the MoJ will be trying to reassure them...

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  11. Just a thought, but I'm wondering if the HMPI will be required, or called to give evidence at Judical Review?
    That would be a whole new bag of worms me thinks.

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  12. I have 14 weekly late night reporters.... Absolutely bonkers. Most come after 6pm. It's a quick hello, here's your next appointment. Then I receive abuse from them because of their 1 hour bus journey to the office... It's mind boggingly stupid way to manage things!

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    1. I suspect weekend reporting may be one of the innovations being considered.

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    2. To anon 13.07 are these 14 all High risk? This kind of brief mechanistic reporting does no one any good. If poss to re-assess any as Med more good likely if can be seen fortnightly but for longer more meaningful session. If cant reassess to Med yet there is surely an argument for a remix/reallocation of some cases to colleagues. I think 3 latenighters is absolute max to manage and thats still a strain!

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  13. So, TR Week 25 and where are we?
    1. The Sell Off: this proceeds at an alarming rate with little reflection or, it seems to me, care. This Government continues to outsource our Criminal Justice Sector to foreign owned companies where the end profit will go outside the UK. British professions are being down graded with reduced terms and conditions and, of course, less tax revenue and NI coming to the UK as a result. Be clear, the simple cost of running probation in the public sector is not the sole financial consideration as Grayling would have you believe.
    2. The buyers: has the Government issued some form of indemnity or guarantee to them? It makes so little sense for them to have expended great financial resources on this project otherwise. Just what is in it for them? Are the profits really going to be so great? Caveat emptor my friends, as your share value can go down remember - never lose sight of reputational damage from lack of public confidence in your organisations...remember Northern Rock! I believe there is something the public is not being told about Graylings dealings with you - are you so sure he can be trusted?
    3. The Day Job: so we are told by the MOJ all is running well. Now we know this is not true and whilst the rush to the sell off continues we need to ask if the pace of this is dictated by trying to out run the truth catching up with the MOJ? Is NOMS trying to outpace the Tsunami of chaos that is moving ever faster towards the shore of reality?

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    1. On point 2, there is no guarantee or indemnity. These companies bid for government contracts at risk. What is in it for them is a 7 year government contract with a profit margin of probably 4-5%

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    2. So, could a sharp Solicitor could take a CPA to Court if an offender being supervised by them committed another offence? The argument being that the CPA did not manage/address his risk. I can see the new PPI now.

      Every been assaulted?
      Was your assailant on Probation?
      Call us now for a free quote on how much we can get for you (and us).
      I can just see them paying the Victims Support Scheme for each name provided. On one hand the Government sell off Probation and pocket a wedge, on the other they sell of the victims names; double income.
      Don't say that it could never happen.

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    3. Better call Saul!

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    4. Could a sharp solicitor take a CRC to court if an offender committed a further offence? Yes, of course. But the same solicitor could have taken the probation service too court in the same circumstances. Their chances of success would not have increased post-TR

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  14. Hasn't it all gone quiet about HMIP and his wife and the CONFLICT OF INTERESTS...couples in public life eh Mr Grayling? This can not be allowed to continue, we are not stupid and we are watching closely ....

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    1. If they can destroy documents which ALLEGE MP's are paedophiles and child killers, then keeping this from the papers will be a piece of piss. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!

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  15. The fact that someone sees weekend reporting as an innovation says everything about why probation is being privatised.
    Weekend reporting should be a basic minimum standard option for service users with full time employment or other commitments.

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    1. I suspect the commenter above used "innovation" in an ironic manner there...

      I think there would be very little real demand for weekend reporting, certainly in every office I've worked at - nearly everyone I've worked with was able to attend at some point between 8am-7pm Monday-Friday. Remember that opening even on a Saturday morning would increase costs quite considerably, with staff wages, building overheads and so on factored in.

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  16. I couldn't agree more, I had offered to do this in the past to my manager and instead of seeing this as positive she actually asked if it meant I could not manage my workload within my working hours! You couldn't make this stuff up could you?
    Just makes me reflect on how many innovations practitioners have had rubbished by senior management...they really have sold us down the river

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    1. Well, I guess that depends if you wanted to work at the weekend instead of the conventional 5 days week. If it was as well as, then your manager has a point.
      Whilst I can see why weekend working might be considered, I for one hope it is not mandatory. I mean, heaven forbid that I might have commitments in my personal life of a weekend, or family/friends/other half that I'd like to spend time with.

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    2. Actually it was suggested simply to help the offenders,some of whom had to get trains and were often able to only walk in and sign for their next appointment....two of my offenders had worked v long hours prior to reporting on the only night made available by the Trust for this purpose. I was able to do this so suggested it with time off in lieu during the week....anyway the answer was no. You missed my point about how flexible practitioners have been prepared to be in the past.

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  17. As if things were not bad enough in Northumbria!
    I just hope they can employ someone to answer the friggin phone when I call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    http://www.thejournal.co.uk/north-east-analysis/analysis-news/bosses-hmp-northumberland-using-zero-8153415

    I need to download my App :(

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    1. I tried to download the app but it didn't work on my phone. Got a sickness meeting coming up, what's the bets they ask me if I've used the app?

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    2. They really are taking the piss in Northumberland at present. I'm trying to get into DTV but my sources tell me that the managers in that area are as much use as tits on a fish.

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    3. to Anon 16:26 I think DTV employed probation staff on zero hours contracts, this has continued since the split.

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    4. A privately-run jail is using the controversial zero hours contracts to plug gaps in its workforce, a debate in the House of Commons has heard.

      HMP Northumberland, which has been described by prison officers as “like a tinderbox”, is using the contracts after cuts stripped away its staff from 441 to 270 from 2010 to 2013.

      Labour MP for Wansbeck Ian Lavery described the measure at the Sodexo-run Category C jail as an “outrage” during a debate on a bill aimed at abolishing the contracts.

      He said: “Is my honourable friend aware of the situation at HMP Northumberland, where Sodexo, a French catering company, has privatised the prison and sacked or made redundant more than a third of the work force?

      “It does not have enough people to make the prison safe, but it is bringing in people on banked-hours and zero-hours contracts. That is an outrage.”

      It comes after a riot at the jail in March and a stash of Class A drugs worth in excess of £100,000 were found last month.

      The private members bill, brought by Gateshead MP Ian Mearns, is aimed at abolishing zero hours contracts and the debate will continue next week.

      MPs heard use of the contracts is rife in the care and hospitality sectors with the average wage of a zero hours worker is £236, - and that this is a figure £246 less than the average worker.

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  18. Someone referenced it would be more expensive to open at weekends - only if you assume your ts and cs will be in tact. If you aren't paid extra to work weekends then if would cost no more than now.

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    1. I wasn't talking about unsocial hours payments, just multiplication. Having an office heated and lit, plus whatever caretaking and security you need, for six days rather than five, is obviously going to cost more.

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    2. Not if you don't have to open evenings. Daytime at weekends would always be cheaper if you factor out increased staffing costs.

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    3. There are no extra staffing costs. DTV both CRC and NPS do late night with two staff no manager or admin, as and when it suits apparently.....

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  19. We court POs have to cover Saturday and bank holiday courts. A little known secret in the court teams' world.

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  20. Not in my area, it is done as additional payment duty on a rota, not only court based staff open to all

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  21. http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/23/appeal-court-judge-horrified-number-litigants-without-lawyers

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    1. A court of appeal judge has said she is “horrified” at the number of unrepresented litigants and warned that the delays caused will “clog up” the justice system.

      Dame Elizabeth Gloster’s forthright comments were delivered at the launch of a report that exposed low morale within the legal profession and found that 83% of lawyers believe justice is no longer accessible to all.

      The study, by the law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, interviewed more than 500 senior solicitors and barristers, concluding that nearly two-thirds (61%) fear there is little trust in the fairness of the judicial process.

      Entitled Innovation in Law, the report assessed changes brought about mainly through the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) – which sliced £350m a year out of the civil legal aid budget – and considered ways in which the system might be improved.

      More than 80% of the lawyers said the situation was worse than five years ago, 87% believed that wealth is a more important factor in access to justice than it previously was and 79% said increases in court fees were making it harder for people to bring cases. As many as 69% of the lawyers questioned said they would not recommend the legal profession as a career.

      In a debate in London on the findings, Gloster, who was appointed to the court of appeal last year and whose experience is chiefly in commercial law, said: “I’m horrified at the number of litigants in person [LIPs]. We are trying to provide them with [help]. The large number of LIPs leads to delay and is going to clog up the system. Cases with unrepresented litigants take longer.”

      As many as two-thirds of cases working their way through the family courts now involve at least one side who has no lawyer to provide help, according to the family law organisation Resolution.

      Gloster welcomed the recent £2m funding announced by the family justice minister, Simon Hughes, to help unrepresented claimants but added: “I wouldn’t recommend anyone go to the publicly funded bar or the criminal bar.

      “When I joined the bar, people said go to the criminal bar: ‘That’s where the money is.’ Why are criminal lawyers not paid a decent wage [now]?”

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  22. I will not allow the blog to get bogged down in an endless side show with one person intent on causing mischief. The last comment has been deleted for being gratuitously offensive.

    We've discussed the issues raised by this person over the last few days and I have suggested they write a guest blog. The offer remains, but any further comments designed in my opinion just to irritate will be deleted. In the final analysis we may well have to revert to comment moderation.

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    1. That seems fair. The comments, probably from the same person, have been repeated time and time again and have not developed in response to any feedback. I think you have been very patient and the offer of a guest blog is more than generous.

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  23. Ok comment moderation in place. Unfortunately our unhappy contributer feels he should have the last word and clearly feels entitled to wind us all up. I will not have the blog hijacked and I suspect if we had carried on trying to respond, all other discussion would effectively be drowned out. We'll just have to live with some inconvenience. Your understanding would be appreciated. Thanks.

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  24. Its sad that, with the offer of an opportunity to be heard, such an opportunity is thrown away. I wasn't privvy to the 'last straw' post but had probation frontline staff been afforded such a privelege of being heard then I don't doubt TR would have taken a different route. I suspect some form of TR would have happened in any event (grayling needed a legacy) but it might have been constructive, as opposed to the nightmare fuck-up omnishambles we now face... And the many posts JB now has to monitor.

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  25. JB - while you're monitoring yerself to death try listening to "Natural Trip Reggae" via "intune radio" on't'interweb. Bliss.

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  26. Jim, you' ve got more to concern yourself about than this bollocks. More power to you my friend, push on through...........a geordie PO

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  27. I clicked onto Civil Service Reform -Progress Report - Gov. Uk and opened onto 4 reports - clicked onto the1st report- full of info about dramatic changes in systems etc, and scrolled down to 4.7 -'Case Study- Transforming the Criminal Justice System'- the next page opened up plans for new systems for professionals and users in court- victims, defence, prosecution, police, CPS, legal advisors, judges, mags, HMCTS staff and eventually Probation - basically talking of centralising all the research -files, reports, history, deps, - onto digitalised systems - Wi-Fi will be installed all over, so you can work, interview etc via the eye in the sky, aka 'the Wizard of Oz' . There is a photo of digi equipment. and screens, on the Bench, so the presence of professionals in court will be reduced, and I presume defendants will be interviewed on Skype, if at all.

    Can you imagine the chaos when (not 'if') computers freeze, or crash...?

    Other revelations on this report are about dramatic cuts in jobs and estate, and you will have no need for own desk or office, you will use Smart Working, from any dept,, from laptops. You will have Common Access Passes, rolled out in 90% of central offices, by the end of 2014, and across country by end of 2015. There is another photo - from above - of a huddle of earnest staff in a tight circle, laptops in hand, heads down, a....e up. It looks demeaning and pathetic.

    There will be a Smart Working Charter, with an agreed definition of excellence aiming at new national standards, introduced and piloted by the end of Feb 2015.

    At the beginning of all this there was a pledge/expectation from all staff. that they do not challenge any new ideas from the minister, not to criticise or fudge it, but respond as required until the minister makes further changes. They must also be politically low key.

    I then clicked onto a Guardian report 20/11/14 -'Civil Service survey- civil servants unhappy over pay and leadership' - ''in a time of massive upheaval at Whitehall, only 30% staff feel changes are for the better''.....

    I clicked again 'Civil Service morale "you dread going into work in the mornings'. - 'bullying, stress, unrealistic targets and job cuts - civil servants explain why they are so disillusioned'

    Performance ratings were targeted- where bosses hold secret meetings to identify lowest 10% performers, then they pit 2 groups against each other, with the lowest 5% potentially losing their jobs. - 'the Employment Games'? Then if dismissed for poor practice, there is no redundancy to pay out.

    'People are wanting to be out - more are racing to the door, faster than they can be made redundant'.

    Bullying is also an issue, with staff harassed and unfairly dismissed for speaking up. and Cabinet Minister has made it a specific target to cut down on the nbr of union reps in the Service, and they hours they can spend on union business.

    Is this the future for NPS?? Out of the frying pan and into the fire... Is there any hope with this thoroughly unpleasant govt ??

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    1. I had a vision of this nightmare scenario in court a decade ago. I thought it couldn't possibly happen in a 'democratic' 'civilised' society. I said to my then boss, once the criminal justice system becomes a mere administrative process, without the time to consider legislation or interests of justice, then we may as well be under a communist or fascist dictatorship. The courts are becoming farsical, with poor IT, missing evidence and costly delays due to new procedures that due not work. I am so depressed by all of this. The only winners will be the IT contractors and other sharks waiting to feast on the carcass. And it won't be too long before we are savnede for having an opinion.

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    2. Meant to read "sacked" but "savnede" sounds suitably painful.

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  28. thanks Jim. We are all proud of you!! I thought for one tough moment that I had lost all that I had typed above (20 43) And it would have to be the longest I have sent!! Sorry!

    You do a magnificent job without this sad person determined to remain bitter when commenters were trying at times, to provide support and understanding . But - he has to take responsibility for what got him on a programme n the first place. End of subject.

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