Safe for all? How austerity wrecked the probation service
Austerity broke it: the probation service in England and Wales is now rated “inadequate” after years of cuts, chaos and failed privatisation
Austerity broke it: the probation service in England and Wales is now rated “inadequate” after years of cuts, chaos and failed privatisation
Who would be a probation officer? Long hours, complex work and some of the most challenging clients imaginable. In spite of all that, over 20,000 full-time probation service staff work in the probation service day in, day out. And yet, with the probation service’s watchdog’s recent annual report having rated the probation service as inadequate, there is a mounting sense that it may be at crisis point.
The probation service stands at a precarious moment. With the government reducing sentences in an attempt to ease an overwhelmed prison system, more and more criminals are being managed in the community. However, the government’s chief inspector of probation services says that the public are at real risk of crime unless the probation service is overhauled and properly funded. Why is the probation service underperforming at the exact moment the system needs to be robust and properly funded?
The roots of the service’s inadequate performance go back further than 12 months to disastrous decisions made over 15 years ago which have wrecked the system designed to keep the public, staff and offenders safe for all.
Faced with a growing populist backlash and chronic underfunding, it’s worth asking what has broken the probation service. The answer is austerity.
Probation service: a deteriorating system for managing offenders
In 2010, the Conservative-led coalition government came to power and inherited a healthy, award-winning service for managing offenders leaving prison. The National Offender Management Service was managed by 35 publicly owned probation trusts. While never perfect, as no public body ever is, the overall system was a healthy one. Fast forward 15 years and the latest research into the overall health of the system makes for grim reading.
In March 2025, HM Inspectorate published its annual report, covering inspections undertaken between February 2024 and February 2025, and on 29 April, it published the results of its 2025 inspection into the general sufficiency of national probation services. The results, the inspectorate discovered, were wanting. Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Major shortfalls were found in service delivery and work to keep people safe remains a significant cause for concern”. The report highlighted that the probation service was not meeting the needs of offenders released from prison or the wider community. Staff were underfunded and overworked, and junior staff were not supported.
This is a sadly all too familiar story for those who have worked for or had contact with the probation service.
Austerity: all in this together, or a convenient lie?
How did this happen? How did the umbrella service for managing offenders either going to prison, in prison, or having left prison, go from an award-winning service in 2014 to a failing service staffed by burnt-out staff with overflowing caseloads? The answer, in a word, is austerity.
When the Tory-Lib Dem coalition was formed in 2010, it immediately began cutting the public sector. Britain’s finances, they claimed, were on the brink of ruin and cutting the public sector was the only remedy that would stave off complete collapse. In fact, it was a lie. A convenient lie which acted as the ideological cover for stripping back the state. In 2010, David Cameron gave a speech in which he outlined his vision for Britain, saying he wanted a “fairer, greener, safer Britain”. Ultimately, austerity delivered none of these things. Instead 14 years of Tory government left Britain an impoverished, broken down, sicker country.
Austerity’s legacy: the catastrophic undermining of the probation service
The disastrous Grayling reforms are very instructive. This year, 15 years on from the first ‘austerity’ budget under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition, it’s become clear that a pattern has emerged as follows:
Take a public service which may have its problems but is working well at the point of delivery. Then invent a crisis, use that crisis to starve it of public funds, then let results plummet and public confidence deteriorate. Then introduce privatisation, and when the outcome is failure, blame it on ‘woke’ policies and frittering away public money on ergonomic chairs and rainbow lanyards. It’s a recipe not for a successful society but a smoking ruin of a country.
The probation service provides a vital service. Probation service staff at all levels have immense responsibility to judge risk, provide a high-quality service and treat offenders with dignity and respect. We’ve learned from the inspectorate’s report that such a challenging job cannot be delivered when staff are overburdened, underfunded and landed with impossible expectations including unrealistic caseloads.
There are pathways to return the service towards a high-quality service. In May this year Unison recommended that the whole system be decentralised and given proper oversight again by elected mayors. But unless the catastrophic error of austerity is reversed, and the service is given proper investment, to support junior staff, reduce caseloads and provide proper oversight of offenders, it’s hard to see outcomes improving.
Alex Mair
The probation service stands at a precarious moment. With the government reducing sentences in an attempt to ease an overwhelmed prison system, more and more criminals are being managed in the community. However, the government’s chief inspector of probation services says that the public are at real risk of crime unless the probation service is overhauled and properly funded. Why is the probation service underperforming at the exact moment the system needs to be robust and properly funded?
The roots of the service’s inadequate performance go back further than 12 months to disastrous decisions made over 15 years ago which have wrecked the system designed to keep the public, staff and offenders safe for all.
Faced with a growing populist backlash and chronic underfunding, it’s worth asking what has broken the probation service. The answer is austerity.
Probation service: a deteriorating system for managing offenders
In 2010, the Conservative-led coalition government came to power and inherited a healthy, award-winning service for managing offenders leaving prison. The National Offender Management Service was managed by 35 publicly owned probation trusts. While never perfect, as no public body ever is, the overall system was a healthy one. Fast forward 15 years and the latest research into the overall health of the system makes for grim reading.
In March 2025, HM Inspectorate published its annual report, covering inspections undertaken between February 2024 and February 2025, and on 29 April, it published the results of its 2025 inspection into the general sufficiency of national probation services. The results, the inspectorate discovered, were wanting. Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “Major shortfalls were found in service delivery and work to keep people safe remains a significant cause for concern”. The report highlighted that the probation service was not meeting the needs of offenders released from prison or the wider community. Staff were underfunded and overworked, and junior staff were not supported.
This is a sadly all too familiar story for those who have worked for or had contact with the probation service.
Austerity: all in this together, or a convenient lie?
How did this happen? How did the umbrella service for managing offenders either going to prison, in prison, or having left prison, go from an award-winning service in 2014 to a failing service staffed by burnt-out staff with overflowing caseloads? The answer, in a word, is austerity.
When the Tory-Lib Dem coalition was formed in 2010, it immediately began cutting the public sector. Britain’s finances, they claimed, were on the brink of ruin and cutting the public sector was the only remedy that would stave off complete collapse. In fact, it was a lie. A convenient lie which acted as the ideological cover for stripping back the state. In 2010, David Cameron gave a speech in which he outlined his vision for Britain, saying he wanted a “fairer, greener, safer Britain”. Ultimately, austerity delivered none of these things. Instead 14 years of Tory government left Britain an impoverished, broken down, sicker country.
The cost of austerity for the probation service
Nowhere is the failure of austerity more acutely on display than in the current failures of the probation service. In 2014, minister Chris Grayling pushed through the part-privatisation of the probation service, in which the trusts previously responsible for managing offenders in the community were scrapped.
The state was left to manage only the high-risk offenders. The rest were to be managed by private entities called Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The result was a disaster. The number of offenders breaking the terms of their licenses went up, and central government had to bail out the failing CRCs. The total cost? Five hundred million pounds. The privatisation process was later reversed. So, the taxpayer ended up paying £500mn for a failed privatisation scheme which made offending worse.
Nowhere is the failure of austerity more acutely on display than in the current failures of the probation service. In 2014, minister Chris Grayling pushed through the part-privatisation of the probation service, in which the trusts previously responsible for managing offenders in the community were scrapped.
The state was left to manage only the high-risk offenders. The rest were to be managed by private entities called Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The result was a disaster. The number of offenders breaking the terms of their licenses went up, and central government had to bail out the failing CRCs. The total cost? Five hundred million pounds. The privatisation process was later reversed. So, the taxpayer ended up paying £500mn for a failed privatisation scheme which made offending worse.
Austerity’s legacy: the catastrophic undermining of the probation service
The disastrous Grayling reforms are very instructive. This year, 15 years on from the first ‘austerity’ budget under the Tory-Lib Dem coalition, it’s become clear that a pattern has emerged as follows:
Take a public service which may have its problems but is working well at the point of delivery. Then invent a crisis, use that crisis to starve it of public funds, then let results plummet and public confidence deteriorate. Then introduce privatisation, and when the outcome is failure, blame it on ‘woke’ policies and frittering away public money on ergonomic chairs and rainbow lanyards. It’s a recipe not for a successful society but a smoking ruin of a country.
The probation service provides a vital service. Probation service staff at all levels have immense responsibility to judge risk, provide a high-quality service and treat offenders with dignity and respect. We’ve learned from the inspectorate’s report that such a challenging job cannot be delivered when staff are overburdened, underfunded and landed with impossible expectations including unrealistic caseloads.
There are pathways to return the service towards a high-quality service. In May this year Unison recommended that the whole system be decentralised and given proper oversight again by elected mayors. But unless the catastrophic error of austerity is reversed, and the service is given proper investment, to support junior staff, reduce caseloads and provide proper oversight of offenders, it’s hard to see outcomes improving.
Alex Mair
ReplyDeletePosted elsewhere:-
ooh, those pesky Yorkies & their lefty journos:
"Take a public service which may have its problems but is working well at the point of delivery. Then invent a crisis, use that crisis to starve it of public funds, then let results plummet and public confidence deteriorate. Then introduce privatisation, and when the outcome is failure, blame it on ‘woke’ policies and frittering away public money on ergonomic chairs and rainbow lanyards. It’s a recipe not for a successful society but a smoking ruin of a country."
Its a really good read from Alex Mair.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vgg7wemv1o
ReplyDeleteCriminals at a prison where some cells have been locked down during the day due to serious violence could pose an even higher risk to the public when released, their families have warned.
Staff members and inmates at HMP Swinfen Hall, in Lichfield, have been hurt in attacks, including a prison officer who was stabbed in the head.
The BBC has spoken to families who fear the disorder means their loved ones are not being rehabilitated and could come out more dangerous than they went in.
...
The Ministry of Justice said it did not recognise concerns raised to the BBC
Last week, the Justice Secretary announced "landmark" sentencing reforms and said they would help cut crime, boost rehabilitation and reduce reoffending.
Ministers want to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031, with £2.3bn committed to build new jails.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government had inherited a prisons crisis.
"We do not recognise many of these claims," a statement read, responding to the families' comments.
Those of us who lived through it remember it. Traumatic. There are however precious few of us still in the Service, and such is the rapid turnover of burnt out staff that the collective organisational memory and culture are all but completely erased. Remains the odd writer...and blogger, thanks Jim...to at least get some of it on record.
ReplyDeleteYou'd hope that somewhere high in the hierarchy someone was planning some sort of retrieval and repair, but it's clear that they haven't a clue, despite occasional virtue signalling nods to professionalism and rehabilitative work.
Aspects of professionalism: high quality extensive training, rewards by good pay and conditions, practitioner autonomy, and a clearly articulated purpose and ethical code. Eg, for the latter, "first, do no harm"
Grim hollow laughter
An excellent, accurate and succint analysis by Alex Mair, in my opinion, of the destruction of the probation service by politicians, not least Chris Grayling. I'm now two years' early retired, having previously worked as a probation officer for just over four decades. Although my working life is long past, I still think about the crime of the century that was committed by Grayling et al and, indeed, I would still be working if it wasn't for him. I gave a statement to Napo's solicitor concerning an intended judicial review, that never went ahead. My recall is that Napo chose not to pursue it (am I correct). It was that decision by Napo, alongside Napo's support for a motion at the 2018 Trades Union Conference in support of self-ID, that led me to resign from Napo after over thirty five years as a member. The rest is history!
ReplyDeleteAs I recall Napo supported zero claims in relation to TR. It withdrew its own judicial review. It then supported TR, CRCs, NPS, intrusive Visor vetting of probation staff, probation as second class civil servants, and everything that followed. A sorry state of affairs.
DeleteQ. Why has Napo not published a full account of its activity around JR?
DeleteMembers should be aware that although the Officer Group and National Executive Committee (NEC) have been fully briefed on the work that has been going on since last year, it was decided that it would not be strategically sensible to provide regular comprehensive briefings to members which would obviously be seen by the Ministry of Justice who are currently being asked to answer a range of key legal issues that we have put to them in the context of us challenging the TR agenda.
Love this blog just been into 2014 and the nonsense from Napo . It is all over now Napo so publish the submission to jr. A strategy that reads as though it was pressure that made you lodge and cowardice that let it collapse.
DeleteI was released in 2021 and I used to dicuss with other prisoners how much I was looking forward to getting out and working with probation who were there to help me. They laughed in my face and told me it wasn't like that anymore. I assumed they hadn't co-operated properly but they were right. I got a massive exclusion zone from someone who'd never met me and then she intentionally tried to render me homeless. She failed. There is no point to you anymore, put on a police uniform and do your worst in plain sight.
ReplyDeletesox
“There are pathways to return the service towards a high-quality service. In May this year Unison recommended that the whole system be decentralised and given proper oversight again by elected mayors.”
ReplyDeleteTotal nonsense. Probation wasn’t broken because of austerity, it was eroded by political meddling and weak leaders which left it with no identity. Probation officers don’t know if they should be helping or hindering offenders. Decentralising probation to mayors and pccs will not help as they’ll make probation an extension of the police and an add on to social services.
It was a double whammy. Political meddling and Austerity, a perfect storm. Without austerity, the service would be there but a bit knackered.. but possibly with enough identity and faith in itself to withstand the political meddling. The two together wreaked on a poorly understood but crucial pillar of UK justice were horribly destructive.
DeleteOur so-called leaders let it happen. Even when some of the Probation Chiefs Association opposed Grayling’s TR there were many that either supported privatisation or sat quiet.
DeleteI recall at the time all it would have taken was for the London chief officer Heather Munro to spill the beans on the London UPW privatisation shambles but she chose not to.
“Pure fantasy” she tweeted when the government claimed the project worked. That tweet was deleted the following day and the rest is history.
Anyone remember the Chiefs briefings pre split, all Chiefs given a guaranteed three year pay deal to promote the split…..how many took the money and ran as they could see the writing on the wall…….
Deletehttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/28/early-release-puts-public-safety-at-risk-without-funding-say-police-and-mi5-report
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyg95n0l05o
DeleteThe government's pledges on crime will not be kept without substantial extra money for policing in next month's spending review, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said.
I find the most interesting comment in the above Guardian article this,
Delete“We will also increase probation funding by up to £700m by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.”
£700m over the next 4 years, with most of it earmarked for tagging?
Serco and G4s seem to be the only winners if that's the settlement. It's not going to make much of an impact on probation delivery.
'Getafix
It’s where the money is. £2.3bn committed to build new jails. Increased funding by up to £700m by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders. This all has absolutely nothing to do with probation.
DeleteIt's not just probation funding that needs addressing but the connections that enable our work to be done. Every body is shuffling work onto others. Just think of the interconnected enquires for a simple tag. Police say it doesn't fit the criteria, safeguarding checks take a week or more. If defendant lives out of area it's like climbing a mountain just to be told you've submitted it all on the wrong form. Reform of the system also has to include addressing jobs worth obstruction.
Delete… But since when did probation become a tagging monitoring service !
DeleteThat’s not the job I signed up for.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c14ke41yg18o
ReplyDelete"Ms Vine said she had made a complaint the following day and although the staff member was investigated and sacked for gross misconduct, she was later told that he had won an appeal. She said she was told he would instead receive a written warning, because it would be "too harsh" for him to lose his job."
sound familiar?
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government had inherited a prisons crisis.
ReplyDeleteRachel Reeves revealed a £22 billion bombshell in the public finances that is our inheritance from the Conservative Party.
starmer says "we've inherited a broken NHS"
But they've ALL inherited substantial pay rises, continue to pocket generous expenses, utilise subsidised food & drink at Houses of Parliament, receive freebies left, right & centre... and not one of them, regardless of party or belief system, seems to have a clue about the Probation Service: “We will also increase probation funding by up to £700m by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.”
I’ve just had a vision of where its all going; the scales have fallen from my eyes & the smell of coffee has reached my freshly awakened nostrils.
ReplyDeleteThe Ministry of Real Justice will have two fully integrated silos:
• Justice in Prison (JiP)
• Justice in the Community (JiC)
All staff will be rebranded as Justice Delivery Officers (JDOs) & will be wholly interchangeable between JiP & JiC as required.
The JiC will be a combination of unpaid work, various forms of tagging & remote reporting. For the most part this will be managed by technology, e.g. bio-tags, auto-booths in public spaces (e.g. Timpson booths will be readily accessible in your local supermarket) or appointments via your smart device (mobile ‘phone, tablet, alexa, tv, etc). A recent announcement heralds this approach:
“We will also increase probation funding by up to £700m by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.”
Most prisons will be remodelled (at a cost of medest £billions) and managed on an arms-length basis by private sector partners, while “rehabilitation” will be delivered by third-party contractors. HMP Millsike is the blueprint:
“This modern prison has been designed to cut crime. This prison will force offenders to turn their backs on crime, delivering safer streets and ensuring there are fewer victims in the future… The prison will be operated by Mitie Care and Custody. Education and workplace training provider PeoplePlus will give offenders the tools they need to find work on release and stay on the straight and narrow.”
“When released, offenders will enter a new period of ‘intensive supervision’ which will see tens of thousands more offenders tagged and many more placed under home detention.”
Offenders will be required to log in using biometrics (face scans, finger prints) & bank details. Late reporting will result in on-the-spot financial penalties (which increase with the lateness of attendance). We will make it clear that use of legitimate banks is essential for a law-abiding lifestyle: No Bank Account, No Early Release.
The Real Justice Minister said: “Finally, the days of being soft on crime are over. This will deliver Real Justice for the people of Britain. Offenders will work for free. This will allow our economy to thrive & we have thousands of businesses waiting to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. Offenders will be punished intensively in the community for their crimes. We will prove that crime does not pay. Indeed, the new paradigm for community payback is a financial imperative; we will hit them in their pockets if they do not comply. They will stay on the straight and narrow.
“Our courageous & committed Justice Delivery Officers will work day & night to deliver Real Justice for the people of this country. Our carefully selected partners will ensure that our prisons & the technologies are state of the art, and they will be richly rewarded for their diligence & investment in the provision of Real Justice.”
Excellent bar the oxymoron you can't have silos and then call them integrated as they cannot be be silos. Enjoyed the rest you have written their new script.
Deletelove the technical critique.
Deletehttps://whatworkswellbeing.org/practice-examples/assure/
Moving from ‘silo-based’ to an integrated approach
DeleteIt's says from in the article that which is correct your error of understanding in your rephrasing diminishes credibility. Most readers would see that immediately it is not technical it's basic.
@07:11 - huh? Who is your comment intended for? I'm clearly very dim & don't understand what you're post means, i.e. someone writes a vaguely humorous post, 07:38@29 May makes an interesting observation, 17:31@29 May seems to have enjoyed it & links an article... then your post leaves me utterly confused. I enjoy the blog but sometimes I cannae make head-nor-tail of some contributions. I might not be the sharpest tool in the box, admittedly.
Delete"I never knew there was so much in it!" (older viewers will understand).
ReplyDeletehttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68370ac98ade4d13a63236e1/psi-14-2016-marriage-prisoners.pdf
Legal Background
1.2 There are five main Acts that apply to parties who are marrying or entering civil partnerships. The relevant Acts are:
1.3 Marriage Act 1983
The Marriage Act 1983 amended the Marriage Act 1949 and enables prisoners to marry in the place of their detention. The Asylum & Immigration Act 2004 also
applies
1.4 Civil Partnership Act 2004
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on 5 December 2005. Section 1 of this Act was amended in December 2019 under secondary legislation, the Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019
1.5 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into effect on 29 March 2014.
1.6 Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into effect on 27 February 2023. The Act raises the age at which somebody can marry or register a civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales
1.7 Victims and Prisoners Act 2024
The prisoner marriage and civil partnership provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 came into effect on 2 August 2024. The Act means that a prisoner subject to a whole life order can only marry or register a civil partnership if agreed by the Secretary of State.
Most probation staff be happy either that
ReplyDelete… I wrote a very flippant comment to begin with. Then i wrote what I actually thought. If this PDU is “sufficient” in analysing desistance factors then shouldn’t HMIP be outlining why it isn’t addressing those factors? Probation cannot address housing, unemployment and substance misuse as it does not own or have a say over these services. If all probation can do is analyse needs, complete referrals and gather information from the police and social services then there is something fundamentally wrong with the purpose and role of probation.
ReplyDelete“Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PDU was today rated as ‘Inadequate’ in our new report. Inspectors found analysis of desistance factors sufficient in most cases, but information relating to safeguarding and police information was not always utilised to its full potential. Read the full report here: https://buff.ly/sFf9dAt”
https://cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/32/2025/05/Leicester-Leicestershire-and-Rutland-PDU-report.pdf
DeleteLeicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PDU
Fieldwork started March 2025
Score 3/21 (14%)
Overall rating: Inadequate
1. Organisational arrangements and activity
P 1.1 Leadership Requires Improvement
P 1.2 Staffing Requires Improvement
P 1.3 Services Requires Improvement
2. Service delivery
P 2.1 Assessment Inadequate
P 2.2 Planning Inadequate
P 2.3 Implementation and delivery Inadequate
P 2.4 Reviewing Inadequate
Once again, the scores on the doors reveal the true shitness of post-TR probation & therefore celebrate the "successes" that handed romeo an enhanced damehood & promotions all round as hmpps staff pocketed bonus payments:
2021/22 - rees £10-15k; copple £10-15k; mann £5-10k; blakeman £10-15k;
2022/23 - barton £10-15k; copple £15-20k; rees £15-20k; blakeman £5-10k
2023/24 - rees £15-20k; copple £5-10k; murray £10-15k
"Working within the set parameters for the
management of senior level pay, an individual can
only be awarded a bonus if they have exceeded at
least one finance and efficiency objective.
Bonuses are based on performance levels attained
and are made as part of the appraisal process.
Bonus payments made in 2023-24 are for bonuses
awarded in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. Bonus
payments made in 2022-23 are for bonuses
awarded in both 2021-22 and 2022-23."
Desistance . As long as probation keeps using jargon as an uppety up on our own bullshit the longer we are doomed to more restrictions of social operation cohesion. We don't deserve it anyway using this sort of snobbish bleating. Speak simply keep it simple help out support follow the logical route to reducing offending . No one cares what the report finds it is no different in any area because the work is greater than our sum of staff to manage everything required. All inspections look for something to justify the inspection . It's just a shame management are held to account we just use report to redirect the whip. Reports are not worth the paper they are printed on .
DeleteYou’re not wrong.
DeleteIn total, 10 senior executives secured six-figure deals including lump-sum payouts as well as pension top-ups. They include Sally Lewis, the outgoing chief executive of Avon and Somerset Probation Trust, whose exit package totalled £293,000, and Russell Bruce, the outgoing chief executive of Durham Tees Valley Probation Trust, who received a redundancy package worth £230,000. Heather Munro, the former head of the then London Probation Trust (now the London CRC), who was paid a salary of more than £130,000 in her final year of employment, left with a deal worth £247,196. Her pension pot was valued at £1.4m.'
https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/probation-chiefs-cash-in-as-700-staff-lose-jobs-60f77qdldxl
A few spoke out, but then backtracked and delivered the pre-tr roadshows to staff. I sat in one of these delivered by the below thinking a minute ago you were in the news condemning TR but now you’re in front of us saying how great it’ll be. This has been the problem with probation, no leadership.
Deletehttps://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/22516186.hertfordshire-probation-boss-government-plans-caused-sadness-frustration/
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jan/09/act-vandalism-based-ideology
Yes priestly and McGuire claptrap didn't help. It is another soundbite meaning stop . Napo have similar decisions but the whole service has got stuck on this platform of quaking ducks. So boring.
DeleteI’d much rather we focus on desistance and rehabilitation claptrap over tagging and public protection claptrap any day.
DeleteWhile you carry on focusing on the clap trap because clapping and talking nonsense is the trap. You will continue to achieve the same reductions in pay inflation loss conditions held at the lower tier. And dissatisfied at the job the outcomes the workload and the reality you are on low brow administrative monitoring role with scope for much else unless probation reverse in full back to values in the 80s. This will never happen in today's climate so you continue to focus on the wrong issues and the talking up charade. As long as you do that probation remains in this done down role. Why because you argue for the wrong things because you choose sound bites than solid facts . Incapable of reasoning why probation officers are not valued is because of the crap talk.
DeleteIn response to the original comment from 29th may at 19.21....I totally agree probation has become an assessment and referral machine....we gather vasts amounts of information but do nothing useful with it. I disagree however that the service has no role to play with housing, employment and substance misuse....the HMIP reports are right to point out how wholly useless the service has become in addressing identified needs. The service itself doesn't give its staff the remit, resources or skills to address these things...its the fault of the service, not the individual staff members working for it. Its demoralising for the staff to work for a service which is so totally remiss in achieving even its most basic aims....but that doesn't mean HMIP are wrong to continually point out the obvious....its the defeaning silence from HMPPS to actually do anything to address the inspection findings which is the true problem
Deletehttps://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzd1km22zo.amp?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17485946276279&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com
ReplyDeleteI can’t point to one thing that an inspection has ever improved other increase managerial stress
ReplyDeletePrison officers pay award.
ReplyDeleteHome News & Events News Room CIRC 034: NATIONAL CHAIR UPDATE MAY 2025
CIRC 034: NATIONAL CHAIR UPDATE MAY 2025
Please bring the contents of this circular to the attention of all POA members.
Pay Award 2025/26
The Government have confirmed the following in respect of the pay award for Prison Officers and related grades in public sector prisons in England and Wales:
The Government is accepting all 13 recommendations made by the review body for 2025/26. Accepting these recommendations in full will deliver a pay rise of at least 4% of base pay for all eligible prison staff between Operational Support Grade and Governors (Bands 2-11).
Band 2 staff will receive the award in addition to the National Living Wage increase applied from 1st April 2025.
They are accepting Recommendation 11, implementing a temporary increase of 5% to the unsocial hours allowance for Band 2 Operational Support Grades. This will be in place for a maximum period of 2 years, to 31st March 2027, whilst we consider arrangements for unsocial hours working for future years as part of future Pay Review Body remits.
In addition, the introduction of a temporary allowance for PEIs will benefit the service in a number of ways. It will act as a financial incentive to make the role more attractive to new and existing staff, thereby helping to build and maintain a stable, skilled, and knowledgeable workforce.
Full details of the award can be accessed via the following link;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/psprb-twenty-fourth-report-on-england-and-wales-2025
'Getafix
That’ll include probation staff that work in prisons. Great way to divide probation further - pay some more.
DeleteGetafix, stop reminding us of how Prison Officer are valued whilst Probation Officers are not (happy to be proved wrong with a positive new pay deal...)
ReplyDeleteProbation officers, SPOs, Crs managers, partnerships managers, all that do work in prisons will get the pay rise too. So any probation staff with a prison email.
DeleteFunny how we’re HM Prisons AND Probation service, but only until the prison gets a pay rise!
ReplyDeleteThis blog has some brilliant people commenting. It illustrates the same issues though as you cannot get the herd to run in the same direction at the same time or even speed. Our journey is only as fast as the slowest train carriage no matter how hard the engine pulls up or down the track. In the unions sense the engine is older has not had much mainline experience having previously spent it's life shunting and puffing along minor sidings without any signals . It is a steam engine which likes a lot of coal puts out a lot of bad smoke noise and hoot toots on the whistle . It rarely makes an appearance these last few years working inside the steam shed . When it comes out coughing and shunting along it lacks the steam of cross country sprint and the coal storage to run a real journey so it always falls way short of any destination. The new station controller wants energy a train that pulls a load moves quickly on problems on the track or fellow engines needing a pull or a push. A younger model with vision ambition to make the trains run on time go faster rest at stations and go home in time with just the right amount of carriages for the passengers on the journey. The new engine won't get lost won't blow smoke won't whistle hoot and toot . It will be bright and have smarter controls
DeleteUse diesel not puff n bluster. Won't break easily and will work effectively for the carriages the station and the benefits are for the passengers and the carriages. The company will be proud as the new engine changes the way things get done around here for the working cogs. Napos general secretary is not unlike an old steam engine out of puff too much of the old smoke not enough shine left on the old brass plate. Change the engine Napo change our game plan the old duffer no longer blows smoke over our eyes.
That's not funny because it is so true.
DeleteI work in prison as a seconded probation officer. We are NOT getting a pay rise. Only prison officers.
ReplyDelete