Probation Must be Free of Civil Service

I'll start this post with a great contribution from regular reader 'Getafix, prompted by Saturday's post referencing my talk on Friday:-

"It's often said that probation work is grounded in the relationship between the offender and the PO, yet if any relationship exists today it's one based on fear. One side of the desk perpetually fearful of recall, the other side perpetually fearful of an SFO."

One of the many subjects touched upon in my talk is that of the civil service. Who on earth would wish to be associated with an institution seemingly dedicated to being as shitty as possible to vast swathes of the population? Whether it's the Windrush generation; asylum seekers; illegal migrants; benefit claimants; the sick; disabled; unemployed; etc etc; all these groups are increasingly being treated dreadfully by a compliant and complicit civil service thoroughly corrupted by 14 years of increasingly right wing governments. This from the Guardian three days ago:-

Jobcentres told to stop referring benefit claimants to food banks

DWP briefing says jobcentres should no longer issue ‘signposting slips’ over concerns about data privacy

Jobcentre officials have been ordered to stop referring penniless benefit claimants to food banks because it breaches data privacy law, in a move charities have warned will cause delays in crisis help for thousands of hungry households.

For years the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has allowed jobcentres to issue DWP-designed “signposting slips”, which allow claimants to access local food banks, many of which will not give out food parcels without a formal referral.

However, an internal DWP briefing seen by the Guardian says it will no longer issue the slips – which require the name of the claimant and brief details, such as the number of children in the household – because they amount to “inappropriate use of personal claimant data”.

Can you imagine what it must feel like to be a decent, caring civil servant when orders like this come down from the top/ Oh hang on a minute - probation officers are now civil servants. My contention is absolutely clear - you cannot be a civil servant and a probation officer - there is a fundamental incompatibility in being part of a top down command and control structure. Probation cannot be repaired unless it returns to some form of independent QANGO structure.

--oo00oo--

Happily there is some good news on the horizon because former senior civil servant Sue Gray in her new role as Keir Starmer's chief of staff is beginning to spell out how a future Labour administration would go about changing various toxic structures and processes This today on the politics.co.uk website:- 

Labour will introduce citizens' assemblies after 'transformational' success in Ireland

The Labour Party has said it is drawing up plans to introduce “citizens’ assemblies” which could be used to bypass Whitehall and make key decisions. Sue Gray, the chief of staff to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, has ­said in her first interview in the role that plans are being worked on to involve the public directly in deciding contentious issues.

Gray, who is in charge of the party’s preparations for government, said such assemblies could give the public a say in constitutional reform, devolution and the location of new houses. Keir Starmer has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in his first term as prime minister, if the Labour Party wins the general election later this year. It has been suggested that the commitment is likely to draw criticism from so-called “nimbys” — those who say “not in my backyard” to housebuilding.

Meanwhile, recent reports have suggested that Starmer intends to delay a previously touted plan to abolish the House of Lords. A report in the Financial Times earlier this month suggested Labour would only implement limited reforms to the Lords in order to focus on economic priorities. The party had previously committed to scrapping the upper house in a first five-year parliament.

Labour’s plan to introduce citizens’ assemblies is described in a biography of Starmer by Tom Baldwin, which is being serialised in The Times newspaper. Gray has told Baldwin of the “transformational” success of citizens’ juries in Ireland that had built consensus for constitutional changes, such as the end to the ban on abortion and allowing gay marriage.

However, she also acknowledged that the plans would face resistance in government, saying: “Whitehall will not like this because they have no control.”

In Ireland, a “Citizens’ Assembly” is tasked with deliberating on matters of national importance. It is typically made up of 99 randomly selected members of the public and one appointed chairperson. Invitations are sent to randomly-selected households, and from those who agree to take part, members are subsequently selected to reflect Irish society in terms of age, gender, social class and regional spread. Recent questions considered include: abortion, fixed-term parliaments, referendums, population ageing, and climate change.

In the UK, Gray has said the assemblies could be used to get agreement on Lords reform, devolution and housebuilding. Citing opposition to these proposals, Gray said: “[A citizens’ assembly] is one way we can help resolve these questions by involving communities at an early stage.”