Here's the latest blog post from the General Secretary:-
HMIP and PAC reports - it's time for the government to act.
How timely, just ahead of our AGM, come two damning reports. The first by HMI Probation into the performance of private provider RRP in Derbyshire and the second, from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee into what they describe as the failure of Transforming Rehabilitation.
No surprise to us of course, and they are not the first or the last of their kind that have appeared, as the impact of Graylings ill-considered social experiment becomes increasingly clearer. The links to both reports appear below and as you would expect we issued media releases as soon as we picked up on the Press Association alerts.
At the time of writing we have had BBC Radio 4 showing interest on the back of our ongoing work with them about the public safety issues that they are chasing down in a number of CRC's. As you will appreciate this is a delicate issue given the propensity of the media to sensationalise incidents involving serious harm or death and the need for us to do all that we can to raise serious questions around public protection.
Probation union Napo responds to HMIP report on Derbyshire probation services
Public Accounts Committee report echoes probation union 's concerns on the failures of Transforming Rehabilitation
Over and above the various issues contained in the two reports comes a looming crisis over funding and the financial viability of some CRC providers who have seen major reductions in the WAV (Weighted Annualised Volumes) for the caseloads that they hold.
The obvious conclusion is that there is a reduction in the numbers of CRC service users but actually its more complicated than that, with growing evidence of a rise in higher risk cases (especially sexually related offences) that need to remain in the NPS, and reductions in the activities required of the CRCs in respect of the clients on their books. Throw in the complexities of the less than transparent payment by results formula, and the reasonable gripes of many CRC owners that they purchased a bit of a dud at share sale, then we have a growing crisis that requires high level intervention. Hopefully we will get a bit more by way of a reaction from the Ministry than the: 'its still early days' mantra.
We have a crisis and its time to take remedial action now.
Top judge sounds alarm bell over care cases
This is a really interesting blog by the President of the Family Courts Sir James Munby. I am sure the subject matter will feature in the debates at next weeks Family Court Section General Meeting in Cardiff and the professional session the following day. We will be contacting Sir James to enquire if he would be willing to have an article published in Napo Quarterly.
Care Cases -- The Looming Crisis
Napo demands clarity over AP Issues
Napo and Unison met with the employers this week to discuss some of the issues that have been raised by our AP members over the E3 implementation plans for Approved Premises. It was a useful meeting which, as always, resulted in many more issues being identified. We did secure an agreement that a Q&A document will be issued by NOMS, most likely next week, to give members answers to the majority of the issues you have raised. We will obviously be having ongoing discussions with the employers on these issues so do continue to feed any concerns and queries in via your local branch.
In the meantime we are aware that some members will be attending their 1:1 meetings and this is obviously a cause of some anxiety when queries and questions remain unanswered. Despite our requests for this part of the process to be paused until the requested information can be provided the employers have decided that they cannot delay the implementation in any way. It might be their call but we think its a mistake.
For that reason we have issued the following advice to members attending 1:1 meetings with their line manager.
- Prepare any questions or queries you have in advance and ask your manager to note at the end of the meeting any that remain unanswered with a description of how the answers will be sought and a plan for a further meeting once answers are available.
- Ask your line manager to make a note that any decisions made during the meeting are subject to change if new information comes to light later.
- Make sure you ask which roles you have been matched to, if you do not agree there is an appeal process attached to the pro-forma for the meetings.
- If you are not happy with anything that happens in the meeting seek advice from your local branch rep in the first instance.
- For members wishing to change the number of hours they work (for example from part time to full time or vice versa), you can do this at the same time as the E3 1:1 process, using the relevant form from My Services. Your line manager should be able to help you find this.
Looking forward to AGM!
This is certainly looking like its going to be an action packed gathering with some serious issues to be debated such as NNC Reform, our future professional strategy, and the many issues being faced by our members across all the employers that we cover.
I hope to see even more late registrations to boost the numbers even further, and I look forward to welcoming everyone and especially new members and first time AGM attendees to Cardiff.
Napo along with UNISON met with the employers on 12th September to discuss some of the issues that have been raised as part of the E3 implementation for Approved Premises. This was a useful meeting however there are some issues that require further discussion. We did secure an agreement that a Q&A document will be issued, most likely next week, to give members answers to the majority of the issues raised. We will be having ongoing discussions with the employers on these issues so continue to feed any concerns and queries via your local branch.
In the meantime we are aware that some members will be attending their 1:1 meetings and this is a cause of some anxiety when queries and questions remain unanswered. Despite our requests for this part of the process to be paused until the requested information can be provided, the employers have decided that they cannot delay the implementation in any way.
For that reason we issue the following advice to members attending 1:1 meetings with their line manager:
- Prepare any questions or queries you have in advance and ask your manager to note at the end of the meeting any that remain unanswered with a description of how the answers will be sought and a plan for a further meeting once answers are available.
- Ask your line manager to make a note that any decisions made during the meeting are subject to change if new information comes to light later.
- Make sure you ask which roles you have been matched to, if you do not agree there is an appeal process attached to the pro-forma for the meetings.If you are not happy with anything that happens in the meeting seek advice from your local branch rep in the first instance.
Further more detailed advice will be issued in due course.
--oo00oo--
As a bonus, I'll throw in his recent article for the Morning Star:-
Round after round of government cuts have left probation close to the point of no return, says Ian Lawrence
The criminal justice system has been in chaos since the days of the coalition as a result of rushed decision-making based on ideology rather than evidence. While some of these decisions have been subsequently overturned by Michael Gove, such as criminal court charges and the prisoner book ban, there is still much to do to secure the future and sustainability of the justice system. Although it has been well publicised that prisons are in chaos with overcrowding and increased violence, the damage caused to the probation service following the rushed privatisation in 2015 has now reached a critical point.
The Probation System Review currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Justice is recognition on the part of the government that all is not well in probation. The Community Rehabilitation Companies’ (CRC) income from providing probation services is well below that predicted by the MoJ and, as pointed out in a National Audit Office report, raises real concerns about their financial viability and sustainability for the next eight years. Some 1,700 jobs have been cut so far from the private companies, with lack of money being the main reason cited. Services are not being delivered to the standard they had been prior to Transforming Rehabilitation being implemented and the HMI Probation are still raising ongoing concerns about the quality of work and staff morale in the CRCs.
In the National Probation Service (still publicly owned) resources are woefully low for staff to carry out their jobs effectively. Further austerity cuts to the MoJ have resulted in cost-cutting operating models that contradict evidence-based practice of effectively reducing reoffending and protecting the public.
Napo members face burnout as they try to cope with working solely with high and very high risk of harm clients and public safety is being jeopardised. Napo, a trade union and professional association, is therefore calling on the new Secretary of State to work with us to remedy the situation urgently. We need to invest in a long-term strategy to maintain professional standards across probation providers. This includes an effective recruitment strategy and a full pay review for staff who have had six years of the pay freeze so far. Greater autonomy for the National Probation Service is needed to enable the organisation to work with local communities and not be run centrally by Whitehall. Quality service delivery, increased professionalism and training for staff and to ensure there is value for money for the taxpayer.
While the press have focused on the prison crisis, it cannot be resolved in isolation. A
robust and effective contract management of the CRCs must be maintained to ensure holistic approach is required to reform the whole of the justice sector, but this approach must be based on evidence of what works and not just political ideology and soundbites.
We can still save the probation service and thus offer a viable alternative to custody. But unless there is a commitment from the government to do this, the probation service could be decimated to the point of no return and a world-renowned service could be lost to us forever.
Ian Lawrence is general secretary of Napo.
Round after round of government cuts have left probation close to the point of no return, says Ian Lawrence
The criminal justice system has been in chaos since the days of the coalition as a result of rushed decision-making based on ideology rather than evidence. While some of these decisions have been subsequently overturned by Michael Gove, such as criminal court charges and the prisoner book ban, there is still much to do to secure the future and sustainability of the justice system. Although it has been well publicised that prisons are in chaos with overcrowding and increased violence, the damage caused to the probation service following the rushed privatisation in 2015 has now reached a critical point.
The Probation System Review currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Justice is recognition on the part of the government that all is not well in probation. The Community Rehabilitation Companies’ (CRC) income from providing probation services is well below that predicted by the MoJ and, as pointed out in a National Audit Office report, raises real concerns about their financial viability and sustainability for the next eight years. Some 1,700 jobs have been cut so far from the private companies, with lack of money being the main reason cited. Services are not being delivered to the standard they had been prior to Transforming Rehabilitation being implemented and the HMI Probation are still raising ongoing concerns about the quality of work and staff morale in the CRCs.
In the National Probation Service (still publicly owned) resources are woefully low for staff to carry out their jobs effectively. Further austerity cuts to the MoJ have resulted in cost-cutting operating models that contradict evidence-based practice of effectively reducing reoffending and protecting the public.
Napo members face burnout as they try to cope with working solely with high and very high risk of harm clients and public safety is being jeopardised. Napo, a trade union and professional association, is therefore calling on the new Secretary of State to work with us to remedy the situation urgently. We need to invest in a long-term strategy to maintain professional standards across probation providers. This includes an effective recruitment strategy and a full pay review for staff who have had six years of the pay freeze so far. Greater autonomy for the National Probation Service is needed to enable the organisation to work with local communities and not be run centrally by Whitehall. Quality service delivery, increased professionalism and training for staff and to ensure there is value for money for the taxpayer.
While the press have focused on the prison crisis, it cannot be resolved in isolation. A
robust and effective contract management of the CRCs must be maintained to ensure holistic approach is required to reform the whole of the justice sector, but this approach must be based on evidence of what works and not just political ideology and soundbites.
We can still save the probation service and thus offer a viable alternative to custody. But unless there is a commitment from the government to do this, the probation service could be decimated to the point of no return and a world-renowned service could be lost to us forever.
Ian Lawrence is general secretary of Napo.
Just been read it up on the Sonnex case again. Does any of this sound familiar:
ReplyDelete'These failings span our courts, the probation service and the Prison Service. Does the noble Lord accept that they are the direct result of an overcrowded prison estate, which has led Ministers to put concerted pressure on the courts and probation staff not to use custody, even when, as here, it was vital to protect the public? That is the primary duty of the Government. Does he accept that the failure to deliver on yet another IT system—namely C-NOMIS, which links the courts, prisons and the probation service—left staff ill-equipped to cope? The failure of IT systems is quite a constant complaint against the Government. Would the £40 million or so squandered on C-NOMIS have been better spent on strengthening front-line officer capacity? Does the Minister accept the independent review’s finding that the local probation service was inadequately staffed, diluting the supervision of such a high-risk offender? Does he also accept its finding that the probation service focused on Sonnex’s employment and accommodation needs, when its number one priority, as I said earlier, should have been public protection? This is yet another symptom of the Government’s confused priorities, paralysis and lack of direction.'
We had an emergency team meeting told not to discuss private things in public and forbidden to talk about Jim Brown at work. Also 50% of cases don't have an oasys. That means 50% of offenders don't have a risk assessment or sentence plan. Why is this not in the national news?
ReplyDeleteHelga cut facility time for napo let's cut her metaphorically speaking.
MTCnovo's strapline is Believe It Or Not I Care (BIONIC). How much do they care by ending union facility time? I heard in one case a Napo rep was prevented by their manager under threat of disciplinary action not to accompany their member to a capability hearing even though the policy said they had a right to be represented.
DeleteSurely what they are doing is illegal? I heard Napo may be calling in the HSE due to the state of some of their buildings as NPS staff are refusing to work in them.
Well, I'm sorry but that NAPO Rep should have ignored the Manager and gone to the meeting as they are statutory entitled to do (facility time to conduct Union business, as enshrined in TULRCA. (Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act). As a nominated Branch Rep they would be entitled to the facility time, which is always difficult to quantify in advance (and thereby control), despite Managers best efforts in this regard. I often think Managers are poorly advised by their HR dept on union related issues. Disciplinary ensues? The Rep will have a nationally appointed Rep to manage their case - if it came to it, which I would very much doubt; the law not being on the side of the employer in this instance.
DeleteHelga OUT OUT OUT
ReplyDeleteHow big is London and Thames Valley's case load? Because MTCNOVO haven't risk assessed or initiated sentence plans for 50% of offenders. I heard from a close pale (ACO) they are in special measures losing money. If I had shares I'd dump them before they become toxic...
ReplyDelete