It Was The Virus That Done It

So, it had nothing to do with evidence, reason or argument - it was the bloody virus that 'did' for privatisation - 'too complicated' what with Covid-19. How do politicians and especially Tory politicians sleep at night when they utter such disingenuous lies routinely? No apology for TR as it was necessary to bring in that mythical 'supervision' for the short term prisoners. Oh how those young advisers at the time must laugh at such a brilliant wheeze used as 'cover' and that still has traction seven years later to excuse the whole TR omnishambles. It all makes me very angry.  

Here's the MoJ press release:- 

Government to take control of unpaid work to strengthen community sentences

Unpaid work and key programmes to stop criminals reoffending will be delivered by HM Prison and Probation Service from next June, the Lord Chancellor confirmed today (11 June 2020).

'We're changing the way the probation service works'

• HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to deliver offenders’ unpaid work and behavioural change programmes from June 2021
• more than £100 million a year available to charities and private sector for rehabilitation
• changes ensure probation system has flexibility to deal with disruption from coronavirus

The move will ensure innovative, new measures to strengthen community sentences can be delivered quicker and more effectively. The government has already ensured serious violent and sexual offenders spend longer in prison and robust community penalties will offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of offending.

With the transition to the new probation system set to take place over the next 12 months, the move will also provide greater control, flexibility and stability during the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. This approach will ensure that the HMPPS takes on responsibility for supervising all offenders in England from next June as planned.

The voluntary sector – so fundamental to reducing reoffending by improving the lives of offenders through rehabilitation – will play an enhanced role in the probation system. Charities and private sector organisations will be able to compete for more than £100 million pounds a year from today (11 June 2020) to run services such as education, employment, accommodation and addiction treatment. Cutting reoffending rates will mean fewer people becoming a victim of crime.

Announcing the changes, Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland QC MP said:

"An effective probation service is essential to cutting crime, tackling reoffending, supporting victims and keeping the public safe. These plans support our move towards a justice system that is tough but smart. That means combining the right sentences with new technology, like sobriety tags, and world-leading rehabilitation which turns offenders’ lives around. This is how the Government will ensure fewer people become a victim of crime. The private sector will continue to play a key role in rehabilitating offenders, from specialist support services and operating prisons through to tagging and the job offers they give to those leaving jail."

The government has long-ended the situation where short-term prisoners were not monitored after release, with an extra 40,000 offenders now supervised every year.

The shake-up of probation will allow probation staff to work more closely with local authorities and the NHS to help offenders find a stable home and medical treatment so that they can hold down a job and leave the criminal lifestyle behind for good.

HMPPS will build on its record for protecting the public when it takes on an excellent group of around 2,000 talented people from the Community Rehabilitation Companies with experience in delivering unpaid work and behavioural change programmes.

Funding will be available via competition to charities, private companies and social enterprises which help address cross-cutting social issues that lead to criminal behaviour such as poor mental health, drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, debt and poor education. The voluntary sector has some of the best experience, innovation and skill to tackle these issues, helping offenders turn their lives around and reducing reoffending.

From today, organisations will be able to pitch the services they can deliver, at what scale and in what region. Services can then be competitively commissioned for delivery at a local level, by prison governors, Probation Regional Directors, Police and Crime Commissioners and other authorities which require them.

The expertise of the private sector will continue to be used in the running of prisons, which run a number of high-performing prisons including HMPs Altcourse and Ashfield. The government is committed to a mixed market, with both the public and private sectors running prisons. The private sector will play an important role in the Government’s ambitious prison reforms, including the investment of £2.5 billion to transform the prison estate and create an additional 10,000 prison places.

A competition to operate the new prison being built at Wellingborough is currently running and due to be followed by a further competition to operate another new prison at Glen Parva.

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Napo press release:-

Union welcomes return of all Probation services to public ownership 

Napo, the largest trade union representing Probation staff in England and Wales, today gave a massive welcome to the Lord Chancellors announcement that all Probation services are to be restored to public ownership and control. 

The decision follows last year’s reversal of Government policy which determined that 80% of probation work would transfer to the National Probation Service by June 2021. It also signals the final termination date (25th June 2021) for the existing Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts which came into effect in 2015 and were originally expected to last for up to 10 years. 

Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said: ‘Our members across the whole of Probation, and especially those who have been working tirelessly against the odds to maintain services in the private sector, will breathe a huge sigh of relief that Napo’s relentless campaigning has at last helped to bring certainty over the future of the service. Ministers have taken a courageous decision to fully reverse the earlier reforms that we opposed from the start and which have also been widely and continuously criticised by Parliament and HM Inspector of Probation. We will now be urgently engaging with Ministers and employers to ensure that all staff currently working in a CRC are guaranteed a future offer of employment in a publicly owned Probation service.’ 

The new plans will see the National Probation Service take full responsibility for Sentence Management, Interventions and Programme delivery with Third Sector providers being commissioned to offer additional support services for Probation clients. This broadly mirrors the arrangements that existed prior to the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms several years ago. 

Napo National Chair Katie Lomas said: “The change in policy is welcome news. Now it is time to rebuild the Probation service and Napo will be pushing the Minister to ensure that there are adequate resources to do so. It is also vital that the third sector are able to genuinely engage in order to provide specialist local services that are critical to a Probation service that responds to the needs of communities and clients.

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Dear Xxxxxxxxx

Ministerial Announcement on Probation

Today the Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland MP has formally announced that all probation services will be brought back into public ownership. This includes unpaid work and programmes. For many of you this good news could not come soon enough and after 7 years hard slog right from the foundations of TR, our relentless campaign has finally won over the government.

Clearly Napo still has a long way to go to ensure that all staff are fully protected in the transition and that full terms and conditions of the transfer will be subject to agreement. However, we are hopeful that the Ministry of Justice, HMPPS and the NPS will fully engage with unions to ensure a smooth transition and to try to relieve the anxieties that many staff will have at the prospect of yet more change.

Napo would like to thank each and every member for their hard work, both in the campaign and in trying to deliver probation services (at times in the most difficult of situations and environments). Your dedication to your work and loyalty to your union has been exceptional and we would not be here today without it.

What Now?

We still have a long way to go to ensure that we have a fully functioning and effective probation service that enables probation professionals to carry out the work to the standards they want. Now we need to focus on rebuilding the service for the future. Napo will continue to campaign for the demands of our members that Probation must be:

• In the public sector and never for profit, but out of the civil service and released from prison.
• Built on evidence based practice.
• Rooted in the local community and partnering with local specialist providers.

Napo will develop a national campaign to push on these demands. In the meantime, members can celebrate this astonishing achievement that has been so long in the waiting.

Ian Lawrence General Secretary

Katie Lomas National Chair