… there has been a tsunami of coverage in the press reporting on the sorry state of affairs in prisons and probation. There is so little satisfaction to be had from mouthing "We told you so" when every day sees valued and valuable colleagues leaving on crappy terms. How absolutely depressing that this argument is being wrung out in the language of the market, in the disgruntlement of investors and shareholders. "The market" will be the final arbiter in this tragedy, and the privatisation model will crash and burn, but while I will welcome the demise of the Grayling experiment, I mourn the personal cost to so many.
For many probation people, the feeling is that it’s all over, and in some ways it is, with a sense of nostalgia amongst the activists who fought the fight. But when we were told to “get over it” we didn’t. The predicted acceptance phase of our bereavement/change hasn’t happened. And that is because we are right. This -TR- is wrong, it doesn’t work, it’s a mess. So here we are a year on, decimated and demoralised. And yet: and yet, maybe this isn’t the end of the road. Inevitably after the event, the establishment is waking up to the mess of Grayling’s creation. And yet, and yet, there may be fight still left in us.
We have Probation to fight for: a crucial public institution that will never have the kudos of the NHS, but which enshrines all that is good about the UK, and which serves the public by protecting it from harm, and embracing those of its members who fall through the cracks. If reminded forcibly, the minister and the government will recognise the urgency of the situation.
Which brings me to the blog of the General Secretary of my Union NAPO.
“We have also been notified of the following Early Day Motion (EDM) which, if it secures enough signatories, will force a full Parliamentary debate. This means that some pressure on your constituency MP to support the EDM would be very timely.”
I will leave you to google the blog and the details of the motion. The nub of it is that our General Secretary is to speak to the Justice Select Committee on 1st November. That it in itself speaks volumes. Then there is a proposed Early Day Motion which will need the signatures of MPs to go ahead. This: the committee, early day motions, is where stuff happens. So my message is
Write to your MP now. You can find them at http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-your-mp/contacting-your-mp/
The motion (which is wordy) ends “urgently calls on the Government to rescind the CRC contracts immediately and launch a review into the Transforming Rehabilitation Agenda and its impact on offenders, victims, the public and staff."
Do your bit. Write to your MP, and just say it like it is. You don’t need to research or be an expert in policy or legislation. You don’t need to be a member of a Union (much as I recommend it) Just say it like it is for you, and that this (TR) absolutely must be reviewed.
Su McConnel
EDMs rarely exert much influence. Napo is back promoting writing to MPs and other parliamentary activities. When will the GS complete his promised analysis of the AGM resolutions and set out the implications, especially the position on national collective bargaining and an update on the functioning of the NEC.
ReplyDeleteThere are a range of criticisms of TR, but, counterintuitively, nearly 80% of service users have not felt any TR reverberations.
This is from the Justice Select Committee website:
'The NAO report found that probation services have been sustained throughout a period of major change, with 77% of service users surveyed reporting that they had not noticed any change in the overall service they had personally received'.
07.51 i take it that you don't speak to flesh and blood service users very often? I don't need to read a survey to know how the 50 offenders i supervise feel, also their partners or family because i see them myself regularly and they tell me what they think. I don't speak for them but i am aware of hiw they experience the service post TR! The things they regularly report are: why is my last po always off sick? I don't like the new office,there is no privacy, travelling long distance for groups is not helping, prison have put wrong reporting address on licence again, prison was full of drugs etc. To my knowledge there has been no recent survey in my area and most of the major changes have taken place since tge last survey, such as office closures and moving to inferior offices. In fact bgsw crc are behind in the tr process and even though staff numbers have reduced enormously due to reduction in hr and it staff etc. They are now facing 40% cuts to maingrade and management through voluntary severance. The survey should therefore take place at the so calked end state when we are reduced diwn to what i can only describe as a skeleton service. Stop reading your stats and get out to local offices and speak to servuce users and staff and if you have an ounce of integrity you will recognise the reality. Demoralised staff and servuce users who are used to being bottom of the pile in life so just put up with a withering service. Also many staff wirking incredibly hard to try and maintain standards and cover fir sick colleagues and reduced staffing, but how long can this go on and at what cost?
ReplyDelete08.39: Although you don't like the conclusions reached by the national audit office as they do not match your anecdotal evidence, NAO findings do get taken seriously by MPs. You are free to choose which statistics you accept or reject, but if you read the EDM you will see it is relies on other statistics to make its argument.
DeleteNotwithstanding the negative impacts of TR, service users are generally saying they have not noticed much difference between probation services pre and post TR. It is futile to simply frame your counter argument around shooting the messenger because the NAO findings do not chime with your personal experiences. On the basis of the NAO assessment of the views of service users during a period of major change, the proponents of TR can quite reasonably argue that so far they have made a decent fist of managing the transition - and things can only get better as the reforms bed in even more. Don't dismiss the NAO findings, explain why service users seem indifferent to the changes.
I will write to my MP like I did the last time, even though I know it will be water off a duck's back like it was the last time. Personally I think we should all walk out over workload.
ReplyDelete08.41 i will contact my mp too. I will also ask my manager to list my top priorities given that i cannot manage everything. Is it public protection or targets? If anyone else goes iff long term sick in my office i am likely to follow suit as cannot manage two caseloads!
ReplyDeleteGood idea asking to have work prioritised. However I am pretty certain my manager will say everything is a priority, because he dare not do otherwise. Not in writing. Not officially. . I would rather walk out than go sick. I don't even know how to go sick.
ReplyDeleteIf a manager says everything is a priority then they are probably breaching employment law! They have a duty of care towards their staff. Evidence your situation and ask for clarity. Then state that this is unreasonable and to state clear priorities. I believe then that if you go off with stress as a result of being overworked you could make a claim.
DeleteWhen things change and either Sodexo et al start giving the keys back or have them taken off them, what is likely to happen? Back to Public pRobation or a new model but fully privatised service? Thoughts?
ReplyDeletewe've been told that Interserve will never ever hand the keys back as they have deep pockets and are in it for the long haul and as others drop out and other CJ contracts come up with billions of pounds they are there waiting to snap them up. It is envisaged that eventually all CRC will be owned by Interserve because of this.
ReplyDeleteEDM's, writing/visiting MP's may indeed make no difference other than too show we CARE and remain deeply concerned about the impact of TR on everything that was once held dear about Probation. Any positive effort or supportive words must account for something and show the esteem in which despite unprecedented and challenging times Probation is still held and cherished. As long as that flicker of light remains with more Inspections, a Government Review, Napo's efforts and now a discussion between Napo/Liz Truss on the Horizon Hope remains. Heartfelt thanks to all those including JB for continuing to hold a Torch and Stand Up/By and unstinting and steadfast in their efforts for Probation. I shall arrange MY MP meeting for next week. iangould5
ReplyDelete11.40 I think what you mean is my anecdotal evidence does not match the NAO findings and not the other way around! I think i am better placed to say whether TR is working in the actual real office that i work in rather than the realm of statistics, which are just that..statistics that can be manipulated. All i am saying is that my views and those of my colleagues have not been sought and the views of the offenders i work with have not been sought for at least 6 months and during the last 6 months the service has been deteriorating. This is evidenced by the poor IT, poor working conditions and loss of private interview space, staff sickness and continued staff losses. I won't be reading all the reports because i am a maingrade po and as you have heard everything is a priority so I am flat out actually doing the job the CRC are set up to do. As i said if you really want to know the truth come and actually speak to some of the service users. Do the interviews face to face like many other researchers will do. And even anecdotal evidence has a place as most academic researchers will tell you!
ReplyDeleteAssuming Frank is a single man with no dependants, he wouldnt be able to claim jobseekers or HB he would be directed to claim UC, its a fairy tale.
ReplyDelete