Down to the Sea

Napo Conference 2022 Day One

A damp misty afternoon in The Winter Gardens Eastbourne set the scene for Napo’s AGM. The event that is both in person and virtual felt like a much smaller more subdued affair than the last time it was held here. There were less people in the hall and the lighting on the top table was overly bright with a large screen positioned so that they were obscured but they could no doubt see the virtual participants.

The conference opened with the traditional roll call with the usual murmurs when Merseyside Branch were not present. With some branches only fielding a few attendees some of the cheers seemed a bit strained. Some members will remember conferences past when branches would proudly drape their banners around the hall and the roll call was met with loud cheers from the larger branches with London alone fielding ninety participants.

The departing Chair Katie Lomas gave a very lengthy and somewhat overly self congratulatory address that provoked a somewhat Marmite response from the faithful, many of whom had found something more interesting to look at on their phones. Katie’s super power is to speak without pause or hesitation for hours on end without giving way. Noticeably not everyone in the hall stood to applaud her, though several woke up at that point.

I imagine many could not help thinking that the appalling pay deal will be her lasting legacy and her comments about the unstinting support of the General Secretary felt odd and slightly disingenuous. Indeed Ian Lawrence seemed uncharacteristically subdued and uncomfortable in the glare of the lights that for an unapologetic narcissist and serial grandstander might count as somewhat odd behaviour. Perhaps he is worried that he is being gradually reduced to a sort of figurehead. Perhaps he will perk up when we get to motion number 12 that will be the ideal opportunity for members to express their confidence in him.

Then on to formal business as ever with the mild mannered and seemingly never changing Jeanne Peall giving the order of business. I sometimes wonder if they keep Jeanne cryogenically frozen between AGMs as she seems unchanged for as long as I have been attending AGMs. Perhaps she should be given some sort of long service award.

Appearing virtually mid trial from Leicester Crown Court, conference were treated to an eloquent address from the former chair of the Criminal Bar Association Jo Sidhu KC. The down at hand made Locke shoe barristers have settled for a £40m bung but they went on strike and perhaps serve as an example to probation service employees as the lawyers have only been on strike twice and united are proving a force to be reckoned with. There is also the matter of a build up of court cases potentially bringing the entire system to a juddering halt at a politically interesting and sensitive time.

Liz Saville Roberts appeared after conference were treated to Shadow Justice Minister Lord Ponsonby welcoming the @CommonsJustice IPP sentences report and its call for greater probation resourcing.

Liz spoke at length about the importance of the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group that is a surprisingly politically diverse group. Reading between the lines LSR appeared to be saying that they need more evidence from Napo to score points in Parliament and when this happens it has an impact. I think Napo employ someone full time to do this but correct me if I am wrong. I for one have always thought that in the past Napo has been at its best when it makes friends with politicians from different political affiliations through the group as this is how you exert influence and speak truth to power. 

Napo is not tied to a particular political party although as a trade union we might reasonably assume that they are ideologically inclined towards Labour. If they were to box clever however they might discover some MPs in other parties might be receptive to sensible suggestions and spread the word. A well placed question or a timely report can do wonders. I cannot fail to observe that in recent years Napo has become less relevant and it would have been good to hear from the new justice secretary or from Labours shadow justice team about their plans for probation. Failing that Napo could have bagged Rory Stewart who always seems to have something interesting to say and who is apparently available with time on his hands.

Some readers will remember the protest London Branch led at the last conference regarding voting both virtually and regarding remote devices in the hall. This was highlighted after a vote regarding a pretty clear cut motion in support of inclusion and diversity and anti discriminatory practice. Some of their suggestions made then have been adopted but a member from Essex Chris Pearson was moved to comment that people seemed to be pressing all the the wrong buttons as uncontroversial motions with no speakers against still had as many as 14% of members recorded as voting against. Perhaps a test should have been conducted.

Motion 17 Hands off Our Pay saw the return of Napo stalwart Keith Stockeld to the podium. Though no one would perhaps disagree with the sentiment of this somewhat rambling to be reckoned with motion. Its main thrust was to oppose the imposition of a regional pay structure. That battle has it seems already been won so technically Keith should have either withdrawn the motion or tabled an amendment. Ho hum. It was carried anyway so officers and officials can tick any action following the motion immediately as completed.

Motion 26 by Napo Cymru to value experienced staff with an interesting amendment saw veteran Napo activists Su McConnel and David Raho take the podium to propose and speak in support of the motion. Su spoke from the heart about the retention of experienced staff and the need for employers to take urgent action to address the issue. David reminded members that experienced staff were the backbone and lifeblood of the service and made clear that something had to be done to stop the departure of those who often function as the stable core in probation offices. Incredible then that 14% voted against valuing experienced staff. What the …….? Just as things looked to be finally warming up, it was the end and off to fringe meetings.

A Reader