Introduction
Please find attached Napo’s Operational Plan for 2016. The draft plan was considered at the November meeting of the NEC and the attached version was approved.
The plan is based on Napo’s ongoing strategic aims and objectives and references resolutions passed at the Eastbourne AGM. It provides a framework for the work of Napo nationally and locally including Napo’s NEC and national committees.
Napo’s work as set out in the 2015 plan is described in the annual report and is not included in this document. The only exception is in relation to employer issues and the following highlights action taken during the past year under that heading:
• An extensive programme of staff development training was initiated
• All staff especially all Admin staff undertook the BACS Direct Debit training
Yours sincerely
IAN LAWRENCE
General Secretary
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Napo's Objectives 2016
Objective 1: Promoting and protecting members' interests
Securing the promotion and protection of members’ interests at work. This objective includes the maintenance of Probation and Cafcass as public sector services, with job security, decent and fair pay, pensions and conditions with national collective bargaining, fair and measurable workloads, equality, health and safety and representation. Ensuring the best use of Napo’s income via sound financial planning, monitoring of budgets and reviewing member services.
Probation
• Continue to expose the disastrous consequences of the privatisation of Probation
• Continue to develop a unifying workloads campaign strategy
• Pursue 2015/16 pay settlement in line with union’s negotiating objectives
• Update the current NNC Job Evaluation Scheme and ensure reps are trained to carry out job evaluation
• Demand proper consultation over new style CRC offices
Cafcass
• Pursue a pay settlement in line with the union’s negotiating objectives
Probation and Cafcass
• Monitor workload issues locally and nationally
• Continue to review and extend member services in line with Napo’s financial planning and procedures
• Supporting the right to privacy and family life
Health and Safety
• Demand for existing statutory rights of safety representatives to be upheld, and for fair and equitable facility time to be granted to safety representatives (AGM Resolution3)
Objective 2: Formulating Professional, Training and Developmental Policies
Promoting the best professional policies, training and development, and qualifications in Probation and Cafcass, based on anti-discriminatory practice and a fundamental commitment to diversity. Providing advice and guidance to members and ensuring regular monitoring and evaluation of policy and practice.
Professional
• Examine the full impact of the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme on training and professional development and practice
• Promote the professional association aspect of Napo
• Promoting and protecting professional standards and qualifications
• Examine the implications of the introduction of the Rehabilitation Activity Requirements
• Continue engagement with the Probation Institute
• Provide responses to NOMS draft Probation Instructions
Training
• Continue to support the work of the Union Learning project in Wales and bid for a new project in England.
Objective 3: Campaigning and Communicating
Maintaining Napo’s high profile in successfully campaigning, promoting and communicating Napo’s policies and values. Organising our campaign against budget cuts and the threat of privatisation in order to maintain the Probation Service and Cafcass as public services, promoting best practice and ensuring sufficient resources are provided to guarantee jobs and service delivery. To work with unions, relevant organisations, MPs, Assembly Members, peers, parliamentary groups and others as appropriate in relation to wider public service campaigns.
Campaigning
• Continue to develop a unifying workloads campaign strategy
• Campaign to end indefinite detention under Immigration Rules via the Family Courts Unions Parliamentary Group (AGM Resolution 2)
• Coordinate work against the Government’s Trade Union Bill with other unions
• Campaign with other groups to revoke the Criminal Courts Cost Charge
• Call on the MoJ to review the Post Sentence Supervision period
• Continue to campaign against the bureaucratic practices as a result of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme and highlight in the media
• Coordinate work against the Government’s ongoing austerity measures with other unions, including the TUC and TUCG
• Continue the fight against the political threat posed by fascist and far right groups
Communication
• Produce new look quarterly larger editions of Napo News, including widening use of the online Napo News site
• Provide regular briefings and statements to parliamentarians and the print and broadcast media; send regular e-bulletins to branches on campaigning issues
• Support and promote the Probation and Family Court Journals, and occasional monographs and improve accessibility
• Continued use of improved Napo website as a primary interface with members, utilise learning and development components, interactive elements such as the forums and continue to increase the use of new technology like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
Objective 4: Building a strong, accessible and inclusive union
Prioritising the organising and recruitment strategy to provide growth in membership representative of all staff in Probation and Cafcass. Promoting structural reform that improves efficiency, democracy and accessibility. Providing trade union education and lifelong learning which empowers members and engenders union activity and organising specialist conferences for members.
Implementing and reviewing progress in relation to policy and action to combat racism, homophobia and heterosexism, sexism, transphobia, ageism, oppression based on religion/beliefs and promoting the social model of disability to combat oppression and discrimination. Promoting full equality and opportunity for all members.
Trade Union Organisation
• Include Professional Associate Members in the quoracy for AGMs (Constitutional Amendment)
• Continue to review the union’s structures
• Maintain and support the National Representation Panel and organise a recruitment process when necessary
• Develop new activists via the new Training Programme
Equal Rights
• Take action against negative changes to disabled members’ reasonable adjustments (AGM Resolution 1)
• Maintain close working relationship with staff associations and support their fight for adequate funding from NOMS
• Plan the next WiN conference
• Continue to ensure that Probation and Cafcass keep equality and diversity at the heart of their structures promoting best practice and policy
• Continue the revision of Napo’s equality policies creating one all encompassing policy in line with the Equalities Act (2010)
• Continue with and review the process of monitoring statistics at AGM
• Review equality training: subject, content and delivery
Training Courses, Seminars, Conferences and Events
• Provide a full range of trade union education/health and safety/union learning/equality and diversity courses which include accredited training
• Organise AGM in Cardiff in October 2016
• Organise specialist conferences and seminars for members in Probation and Cafcass taking account of any review of current arrangements and financial savings
• Enable representation at TUC Congress and the TUC equality conferences
• Ensure that all these events are accessible to all members to enable them to be representative of the diversity of membership
Objective 5: Acting as an effective and responsible employer committed to equal opportunities
Ensuring the maintenance of an efficient and modern Napo head office by promoting equality and trust and supporting and developing staff. Acting as a good equal opportunities employer committed to consultation, negotiation and collective bargaining, valuing diversity and the contribution of staff. Ensuring that the recruitment and selection of staff is based on these same principles.
Improvement where possible of the fabric and environment of Chivalry Road. Using all resources, including information databases and technology, finance and membership services, in the most effective way in support of Napo’s objectives.
• Improve the fabric and environment of Chivalry Road where possible
• Continue the review and update of all Red Book policies
• Deliver Annual Development Review (ADR) process and identified training
• Maintain the work of the Equal Opportunities sub-group
• Hold quarterly staff meetings, monthly administrator and weekly administrator workloads meetings
• Maintain involvement of union shops in employment related issues
• Provide equality and diversity, ADR, Health & Safety, Dignity at Work, and recruitment and selection training to all staff as required
• Continue working to the implemented financial procedures to ensure sound financial planning and regular reviews of budgets
• Continue to update the membership system and data especially in relation to the introduction of Direct Debit
• Continue to keep the website up to date
Napo talk is boring. Let's talk operations
ReplyDelete"Lets talk operations" - you start us off then.
DeleteLittle evidence that TTG is working anything like planned......if it is please let me know which areas are doing do well...
DeleteThis is a pointless blog. This talk from the GS doesn't say anything about anything. There just words!
ReplyDeleteThey're not there!!!!!!
DeleteI'm not impressed.. No surprise though!
ReplyDeleteWhy is Napo pledging to continue to engage/support the abysmal Probation Institute?
Why is Napo silent on the NPS and not opposing it's E3 plan to downgrade probation practice and replace Probatin Officers with PSO's?
I think it's awful that nothing is being done to highlight issue of POs being replaced by PSOs in Court. Why aren't PI or NAPO or Probation Directors opposing this?
DeleteBecause probation directors are the ones that helped plan it, Napo has been loosely supporting it rather than let everyone see it has no bargaining clout with the NPS, and the Probation Institute will not oppose the MoJ as it relies on the scraps from the TR table.
DeleteThis is a plan that will 'continue', 'monitor' and 'promote' existing activities and 'demand' certain things such a proper consultation or health and safety measures.
ReplyDeleteTo 'demand' proper consultation is a measure of how unaccountable the management, and how weak the unions, have become. There is only one way to get meaningful consultations/negotiations, as exemplified by the junior doctors' massive mandate for industrial action. But on industrial action, the Napo leadership is now very much in 'reactive' mode: they will follow the mood of threatened members, but the Napo leadership will not agitate for action. There is no battle plan. This is a plan that will huff and puff.
To add insult to injury the 40% cuts being planned by Working Links is being spearheaded by an esteemed fellow from the Probation Institute, an entity that Napo will continue to engage with, as they both battle for subscriptions from an ever-diminishing workforce as it withers on the vine.
"Objective 1: Promoting and protecting members' interests
ReplyDeleteSecuring the promotion and protection of members’ interests at work. This objective includes the maintenance of Probation and Cafcass as public sector services, with job security, decent and fair pay, pensions and conditions with national collective bargaining, fair and measurable workloads, equality, health and safety and representation."
The creaking sound you can hear is the stable door, swinging in the wind - the horse bolted long ago.
An issue maybe not only low membership engagement but also actual numbers of members needed to sustain negotiating rights - I noticed recently in comments relating to the South West, where Unison & Napo seem to be trying to negotiate on behalf of members who face major disruption and for some loss of employment, there was a hint that the employers may test whether the Unions have sufficient members for them even to negotiate.
DeleteAnyone in probation employment and not in a union, who wants to retain that employment on the best terms possible or gain the best payoff that might be achievable, is probably best if the join or re-join one of those two Unions forthwith - whatever they may feel about the Union's past behaviour or leaders, as they are likely to get better personal protection than if they - go it alone.
That fellow Wiseman FPInst, noted in his letter to the unions,
Delete'It may be the case that when the affected employees are broken down to each establishment within the Company that the relevant threshold for collective consultation is not met.'
Quite what trickery is intended here is unclear as now there are so-called 'establishments' within the company whereas in the past there was the probation service which was a single establishment at least in the context of grades.
Also, it is clear there is no intention to honour the enhanced redundancy as set out in the flawed framework agreement. As to numbers in trade unions, this alone is insufficient, because in the absence of real engagement by members, it's a open road for management.
Follow the doctors, get together, get angry people. Strike.
ReplyDeleteFirstly make sure you are in a Trade union that gives legal protection for some actions and helps the union protect all members - with too few members the unions can be prevented from negotiating.
DeleteThe unions cannot negotiate without power. Power does not come from numbers, it comes from solidarity. The doctors managed to achieve solidarity, the probation unions failed to. The best negotiators in the world will be weak without solidarity. What we are witnessing in probation is what happens when the workforce cannot take a collective stance. Probation management know this and it's only natural in industrial relations that they exploit their advantage. In consequence, individuals unable to fight collectively are guaranteeing they will lose out. There is equally no guarantee that a collective stance will win the day, but even if ultimately beaten each individual will know that they did all they could to fight their corner. As things stands it's shooting fish in a barrel for management.
DeleteAll true I fear Netnipper at 15:40, however, as an individual one is still better off as a union member than as non-member for a variety of reasons.
DeleteCollectively workers will also maximise what influence they can have by formally collaborating with other employees, about issues like basic employment terms & conditions even if one has little regard or respect for colleague employees or Union officers, representatives & Union employees.
I agree that it is in the fundamental interests of workers in the public services to be in trade unions. But for a variety of reasons and the trade union bill is likely to add to those reasons, unions, with some exceptions, are fairly weak and unable to protect terms and conditions – from pensions to pay it's all been downhill in recent years. I am not suggesting that individuals should not join unions, but there is a growing perception and - the check-off tally will pass a judgement of sorts - that the unions are not making a difference and in the absence of impact in the workplace there will soon be little to choose between the 'useful idiot' aka the Probation Institute and Napo: though not married, they are 'engaged'.
DeleteNever forget an organisations biggest assets are it's managers.
ReplyDelete... or its greatest liability
DeleteIt is frontline staff that are keeping probation afloat, and always have. This is who I think of with the saying "people are an organisations greatest asset". People can also be an organisations greatest liability. This I'd use to describe the probation Chiefs, directors and senior management teams.
DeleteSpelling mistake 23:19 you mean its biggest arses surely
DeleteIn the nps area where I work managers are fighting like rats in a sack to secure their own positions, regardless of the impact upon their staff. Sadly, many of our team managers have more ambition than ability and JFDI has become their mantra because they are too spineless to consider rocking the management boat. The best team managers have either left or were sifted into the crc, only to be pushed towards "severance" shortly afterwards. I have come to the conclusion that the qualities that were once valued by the organisation have no currency in the service today. If you have integrity and you actually give a damn about your work, then its probably time to move on. Unless, of course, you can stomach becoming a lion led by a donkey.
DeleteAt the risk of being neutered again by Mr Brown, I reiterate a simple truth: NAPO is as effective as a dead parrot (and much less funny) and deserves to be due to its collusion in facilitating the emasculation of the service. You can spout all the platitudes in the world but that is the simple reality - NAPO's role is defunct. I witness the daily castration of the service (you'd never guess I worked with sex offenders) - untrained PSOs undertaking roles that would have been done by POs six months ago, inadequate risk assessments, piss-poor communication between NPS and CRC, incredulous social workers who can't believe that I can't access former records, etc. NAPO has proved useless in stemming the tide of privatisation. King Canute-Lawrence has very wet feet. We've been fucked over and unless you're partial to a bit of non-consensual shafting, get out while you can. There's going to be a lot of us with a similar skill set chasing fewer and fewer jobs.
ReplyDeleteHeard CRC are not breaching people because it's "too expensive" - despite what's said at court on sentencing, induction etc. Wonder what victims, or sentencers who gave defendants a chance to comply with a community based penalty, would make of that. Credibility is being lost, chaos rapidly turning into a complete joke.
DeleteIf PSOs are doing PO roles as a consequence of e3 then questions should be asked of NAPO. Questions should equally be asked of the staff at the frontline who didn't do anything to resist it in the first place as the e3 justification seems to be "well, PSOs do it in Wales. .." or wherever.
ReplyDeleteShut up 19.23 no evidence of this happening anywhere. If it was then name and shame. You should be held accountable for making this crap up. Joker
ReplyDeleteWest Yorkshire courts are making known their displeasure with the no breach mantra!
DeleteHow do you know that 20.58?
DeleteIt's true what 19.23 says we are discouraged from breaching.
DeleteIt's true in wales
DeleteIt's true nearly all over the country, it's one of the ways of saving money going out whilst bringing money going in....prediction the fraud will be so well engineered that others will come to scrutinise this miracle only to find that it's anything but which will lead to another scandal during which hands will be wrought, PSOs will be blamed for one or two rouge elements acting alone ,lessons will be learned....apparently and government ministers will continue to get seats on boards at very high salaries......this is the truth of the matter...so help me NOMS....
DeleteLook across at the staff cuts NOMS have made in Prisons to handle limited finances in recent years, in spite of disastrous inspection reports.
DeleteParliament don't care as the Media fail to report because death & disaster has not sufficiently touched the "in crowd" yet & they have forgotten the Sonnex & Monckton cases.
Until now NOMs has been almost a "one trick pony" though at last Gove's MOJ is threatening creativity to effectively cut the prison population with an exile scheme for foreigners & "Sat Nav" monitoring for some of the rest.
However now the privateers have been let in, profits MUST be achievable so more staff reductions are certain as was clearly explained to us all, including the House of Commons Justice Select Committee by Richard Johnson which he expounded in his "Spend to Offend" blog article in June 2013.
http://buyingqp.com/2013/06/17/spend-to-offend-the-outsourcing-of-probation/
Yeah, that must be it... what a conspiracy! Numpty.
DeleteGreat God Captain Scott the NOMS you describe sounds like it is an awful place! Unfortunately I think you are correct.
DeleteAgree it's a runaway but not the success bit
DeleteYou are so wrong. Comments on here are based on what is happening all over the country. I am a PO in a CRC. I can tell you it is shameful how quickly a service that had won an ecellence award has been ripped apart and being run by Managers who are more bothered about keeping themselves safe rather than the staff. Managers who have bee promoted above their capabilities. Admin staff with no training now completing Oasys, some publicly stating they can do the PO job in meetings and Managers say nothing. Breaches of confidentiality occurring due to no training or understanding that those subject to Orders/Licences still have some rights despite what the blurb from the private company states. Managers are also included in this. PO's and PSO's being directed to request an extension of an Order if CP has not been completed - even if it is the fault of the CRC as there have not been the resources to deliver the CP. Staff also encouraged to return cases to Court in order to remove Programmes if they can;t be offered in time so that we get a successful completion - This is what counts as performance in the new world. M.
DeleteAlso happening in working links BGSW. Including recalls. They don't want failures as it results in less cash.
DeleteSorry this should be in response to not breaching.
DeleteI've heard that Orders are being terminated to be counted as a "successful completion" even where a breach warrant is outstanding. How will the breach show up when checking court lists / custody list? It won't. ND will simply show a completed order. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
ReplyDeleteWith E3 and the Courts what I don't understand is all this talk of NPS being Civil Service and how important we all are and how proud we should all be (this is the sort of thing we hear from our senior managers). When we eventually have PSOs writing all our court reports and then the cases go to POs in the CRC who have more qualifications, they will be saying well you've got the risk wrong and in this or that and you've missed out this or that and end up sending it back to NPS or making complaints to NPS. It's not going to make NPS look very good is it?
ReplyDeleteThere won't be any POs holding cases in CRC's
DeleteThere will be POs in CRCs so whether they're holding cases or managing people holding cases, NPS are sill going to look incompetent.
DeleteCrcs turn work away and they don't get paid, unlikely. More likely Thule take an increasingly bigger share. Not convinced there will be many POs there at all either.
DeleteCrcs don't have enough staff for POs to not hold cases. PSOs are struggling with the more complex cases, out of their depth.
DeleteCRCs will get rid of more expensive POs and employ more reduced pay rate Responsible Officers not concerned if out of their depth just churn numbers through
DeleteBlock Donald J Trump from UK entry
ReplyDeletehttps://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/114003
I think saving money on pensions was one of the reasons for Transforming Rehabilitation...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/soldier-sacked-army-72-hours-1389909
One of the reasons for so called 'austerity' full stop. Dismantling of public service and associated professions. It's misreprsentation, dishonesty, fraud, theft on a massive scale. The political elite thrive on 'us' and 'them' , rich and poor, powerful and weak. Much more to come.
DeleteAnd we let them get away with it.
DeleteThey get away with it in some sectors more than others. And in probation, for instance, they get away with it because there is no 'we'. Everyone is worried about the same threats and changes, but they do not join up the dots and form a common interest.
DeleteWatch: The Manchester message of peace that went viral
ReplyDeletehttp://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/watch-manchester-message-peace-went-10582275
Hands up if your job sounds like this.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.workwithoffenders.co.uk/jobs/view/7411/jbe
Police Skills are currently recruiting for a number of Assistant Investigators within offender management to work on 6 month temporary contracts based in the North West. To be considered you will need have worked within a public protection, offender management or safeguarding background.
DeleteConduct home visits and interview sex offenders in order to complete the ARMS assessment.
Investigative mind set with ability to probe and check information, take in surroundings whilst at same time talking to the offender.
Good listening skills and have an ability to take in what the Offender is saying and develop that information.
An ability to deal with difficult conversations and sometimes hostility.
Good communication skills and able to develop rapport with offenders and hold conversations.
Ability to challenge, when it is clear that the offender is providing incorrect information, being able to challenge without losing rapport.
Ability to identify risk and take appropriate action
Conduct research, interrogate and up-date information.
Examine intelligence and disseminate the information for criminal intelligence purposes including information received from the prison service.
Attend court and give evidence if required.
Maintain the security and confidentiality of information at all times.
Attend meetings and other multi-agency task groups as required.
Liaison with a wide range of external agencies eg Local Authority, NHS, Social Services
Brief and debrief other staff when required
what's the salary for this?
DeleteAt one prison staff seem to have taken some effective action: -
ReplyDeleteQUOTE -
" Please post annon
On Wednesday afternoon a large SE London jail after their quarterly meeting with their POA Committee refused to unlock in the afternoon.
This was not strike action, this came after it was told to the jails staff that the No1 governor had refused to discuss any further with them their concerns regarding in-complete safe systems of work for staff and prisoner areas and close to 800 repairs to the fabric and areas of the jail, this list was also growing due to the new contractor who the was a product of privatising and outsourcing couldn't cope! These repairs included essential repairs. There was also many other issues ignored by the senior management including civilian instructors ordered to supervise prisoners with no disciplined staff in areas of the jail.
Staff feel unsafe and are constantly being asked to carry out unsafe orders so they refused to unlock until shown that the jail was safe to carry out the ordered regimes and changes where made.
Guess what! The governor ordered his management team to complete these outstanding documents by 10 next morning and then re-opened negotiations with the union. He also called a meeting to thank the staff for their continued efforts and re-assured them he was still putting their safety first, completely changing his tune when realised he was losing control of his staffs good will to work under unsafe conditions. Morale is low, staff are not genuinely appreciated by those seniors immediately above and at the MOJ and it is time for change.
The power is with the staff and every jail can make this stand! "
https://www.facebook.com/Knowthedangeruk/posts/869343059849126