tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post4980451036630654346..comments2024-03-29T13:05:24.150+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: Another LeakJim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-53936879338131774112013-12-16T08:23:58.164+00:002013-12-16T08:23:58.164+00:00CONCERNS over the amount of taxpayers’ money waste...CONCERNS over the amount of taxpayers’ money wasted at Dorchester Prison have been taken to the top.<br /><br />Members of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) secured talks with MPs at Westminster Hall about the millions of pounds spent on the North Square jail ahead of its announced closure.<br /><br />The doors of the prison will finally close tomorrow.<br /><br />A total of £23m has been invested in the capital projects in the last 15 years, according to union official Mike Sear.<br /><br />This included a new healthcare suite, gate complex including roof, windows and bars, a new gym, a refurbished chapel and reconditioned education block.<br /><br /><br />Dorchester is one of four prisons being closed in England to save money.<br /><br />The Echo revealed in September that more than £7.3m has been wasted on refurbishing the prison in the last three years.<br /><br />Mike Sear, of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “My continuing concern is the waste of taxpayers’ money in closing the prison.<br /><br />“Over the last 10 to 15 years about £23m has been invested in the establishment in capital projects.<br /><br />“Far from being an old Victorian edifice the prison is essentially completely refurbished.<br /><br />“We met various MPs, mainly from the Labour Party, to highlight our concerns over this and also about the increasing problem of overcrowding in the prison service which has been exacerbated by these closures.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-68985612629103845102013-12-16T08:14:54.402+00:002013-12-16T08:14:54.402+00:00More MoJ bollocks.
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/n...More MoJ bollocks.<br /><br /> http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10878749._/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-49997659942351441252013-12-15T23:24:11.841+00:002013-12-15T23:24:11.841+00:00Right on the button.
You've been told by every...Right on the button.<br />You've been told by everyone and not just ignored it, but hid your own independent advice and insisted time and time again that there was no risk in your ill thought out plans.<br />Now the PRESS and the PUBLIC are aware that what you say is just not true.<br />It will take only one unfortunate event to occur to find you wanting and bring an end to few high profile political careers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-35864350829257576302013-12-15T22:43:00.348+00:002013-12-15T22:43:00.348+00:00David Cameron - stop wasting your time & our m...David Cameron - stop wasting your time & our money getting your picture taken (didn't you employ your own photographer at some exorbitant sum?) and bring the rogue, psychopathic Grayling & his team into line. You are the 'prime' minister, the number one minister who carries the can for the incompetence and mistakes of your government. Wot!?! No Risk Assessment disclosed until the press got hold of it? Wot!?! 100% risk!?! Wot?!? Not on time or budget or in any format as claimed by Grayling and Wright? Dave, you already suffer from IDS, an expensive gut-wrenching condition that never seems to end. Do you really want a bout of CGI (Chris Grayling's Incompetence) too? It could be terminal if not treated immediately.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-5150531169865767832013-12-15T21:39:00.416+00:002013-12-15T21:39:00.416+00:00During office hours you can just walk into HMP Dar...During office hours you can just walk into HMP Dartmoor - you're supposed to ring the bell first, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-9085022135958624352013-12-15T21:12:23.671+00:002013-12-15T21:12:23.671+00:00Sadly Reading Gaol was an early casualty of cost c...Sadly Reading Gaol was an early casualty of cost cutting and I would imagine will become a visitor centre/hotel or biscuit factory!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-75098068944342337682013-12-15T20:47:14.101+00:002013-12-15T20:47:14.101+00:00Some one once said that "mortgages make cowa... Some one once said that "mortgages make cowards of us all" and the fear that there is no alternative stops all but the most fearless from fighting.<br /><br />Well lets use this small victory as great inspiration, bullies can be beaten and we can beat them. Tell your colleagues in all our offices that the truth is coming out and the rotten core at the heart of this government is being exposed and exposed from within. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-87610761008223029642013-12-15T19:50:45.760+00:002013-12-15T19:50:45.760+00:00People like Grayling do not care, as long as they ...People like Grayling do not care, as long as they get paid & have power. There have been many people in probation who have messaged his ego for their own selfish interest. The sadist part is that these people once stood up for decent human values. Now they are signing to the tune of their corporate image. Truly sad times.<br /><br />ANARCHIST PO - @AnarchistPOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-91269836578059569572013-12-15T19:36:32.648+00:002013-12-15T19:36:32.648+00:00Risk of harm re TR should have been disclosed &...Risk of harm re TR should have been disclosed & logged with parliament. What would happen to PO if didnt log or take action on serious risk!David Hursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00803126450017420488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-48284876425896454932013-12-15T19:22:40.128+00:002013-12-15T19:22:40.128+00:00I wonder if it got top scores for a risk register?...I wonder if it got top scores for a risk register? Off to a cracking start with at least two 25/25s. Potential for a mimisterial egg meets face situation? - that's got to be another 25.<br /><br />However, I think TR has got off to an early start. I drove past Reading nick this evening - the front door was open!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-59684463871418805132013-12-15T19:22:28.770+00:002013-12-15T19:22:28.770+00:00I was a PO for nearly 20 years. I have no salary t...I was a PO for nearly 20 years. I have no salary to lose, no pension to compromise, no managers to upset. And, to the MoJ readers of this blog, I am a rarity in that I actually voted conservative during the Thatcher era. But I wouldn't vote Tory now, not if you paid me. This TR slo-mo train wreck is inherently wrong. It is morally wrong. People will die if you do this. I'm serious. Rape, murder, aggravated burglary, domestic violence, child abuse, you name it, it will rise. Tony Blair said, when Iraq was invaded, that history would be his judge. Hmmmm.... Well, Mr Grayling, how would you like to join in the judgment of history? All you have to do is... nothing. Just let this TR obscenity unfold. Victims are not statistics, they are people. And they vote. Like me.<br /><br />If there is an ounce of decency in the MoJ leadership (which I am sad to say I doubt) then I look to you to have the courage to do what is right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-73165202483432202182013-12-15T19:13:48.990+00:002013-12-15T19:13:48.990+00:00Thanks David - you certainly were quick off the ma...Thanks David - you certainly were quick off the mark - I only got it at 16.43! Lol All this networking underlines probation is quite an extended family.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Jim Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-50141153752887181422013-12-15T18:49:04.319+00:002013-12-15T18:49:04.319+00:00A PLEA ! Thank you to the person of integrity who ...A PLEA ! Thank you to the person of integrity who leaked this information, truly this is a way to save lives. It may sound melodramatic but as experienced professionals supervising offenders we KNOW that lives will be lost when offenders are mismanaged by the inexperienced private sector. The only way to stop this is to rely on the staff who are being forced to push TR through at all costs and against all evidence, to do the decent thing and subvert this. Grayling and the politicians are not listening because we are WARNING them. Please continue to act as you have been and feed the risks to the press. THANK YOU.<br />Hardworking PO Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-73013850478895400532013-12-15T17:08:14.271+00:002013-12-15T17:08:14.271+00:00A message from Pat Waterman, Chair Greater London ...A message from Pat Waterman, Chair Greater London Branch<br /><br />NAPO @ilawrence @tomrendon et al has been asking to see Chris Grayling's (#failinggrayling ’s) risk register for ages so I was glad to read in The Observer this morning that they have seen it. The MOJ's own internal assessment spells out "how the government's plan to allow the private sector and voluntary groups to run its offender management programme is in danger of going off the rails."<br /><br />A probation expert, Harry Fletcher @hfletcher10 , is quoted as saying that the government's plans will compromise public protection.<br /><br />NAPO has been saying this since these plans were first mooted.<br /><br />But still the madness continues.<br /><br />This weekend some members of staff of London Probation Trust received letters advising them of their assignment to either the National Probation Service (NPS) or the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC). Others received letters asking them to express a preference for which organisation they wanted to work for in just over three months time. <br /><br />Given the lack of information about these organisations and what the future might hold how are any of my members supposed to make a decision?<br /><br />To paraphrase Professor Harold Laski, my members are being asked to exercise their judgement in a miasma of distortion. As he also said, trying to do so is to ultimately go astray.<br /><br />I do hope that all members of NAPO will refuse to engage with this nonsense and will ,at the very least, register their concerns with their employers by lodging a grievance. Anybody who chooses to express a preference or accept an assignment without comment is, I am afraid to say, colluding in their own oppression.<br /><br />The Board and Senior Management of London Probation Trust are waving goodbye to all their staff. I hope that they don't add insult to injury by wishing them all a Happy New Year.<br /><br />Your comments as always are welcomed.<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/dec/15/probation-reforms-put-public-at-higher-risk<br />David Hursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00803126450017420488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-15575480889883923612013-12-15T16:51:37.883+00:002013-12-15T16:51:37.883+00:00Come on managers and civil servants of the MOJ, th...Come on managers and civil servants of the MOJ, this has got disaster written all over it. Please do the right thing and stop this nonsense. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-74943101920114093342013-12-15T16:26:39.254+00:002013-12-15T16:26:39.254+00:00Birmingham City Council is considering tearing up ...Birmingham City Council is considering tearing up contracts with an outsourcing giant worth £120 million a year in a bid to stave off austerity cuts, the local authority’s deputy leader has admitted.<br /><br />Last week Labour council leader Sir Albert Bore announced the local authority is negotiating a £20 million reduction on the core IT contract with Capita, which costs the city council between £50 million and £60 million a year.<br /><br />While other contracts relating to one-off projects, the call centre and other services are also being looked at for cuts.<br /><br />Questions were asked when Capita charged the council’s catering firm £7,000 a year for a single computer. And last month it emerged that Service Birmingham had charged the council £1.2 million to set up the new Library Of Birmingham website, with Birmingham based web developers claiming they could have done the same job for a fraction of the cost.<br /><br />Capita has also sparked controversy in 2011 when it attempted to export Service Birmingham IT developer jobs to India. The jobs were returned to the city at a cost of £1 million a year to the council.<br /><br />The Labour administration has been threatening to cut the costs of the deal since it took over in 2012.<br /><br />The City Council is already on course to reduce the number of one-off projects with Capita.<br /><br />It has all but ended its business transformation programme under which new council-wide computer systems, offices and a call centre were set up to improve efficiency, while dozens of out of date offices were closed and staff cut, saving an estimated £1 billion over the first ten years<br /><br />The Service Birmingham contracts with Capita have come under increasing scrutiny as the council looks to close a £460 million funding gap over the next four years.<br /><br />Under the agreements Capita has provided computer systems and IT support, a call centre, and council tax revenue collection among other services.<br /><br />The deal was first signed in 2006 and during the first six years the city council paid Capita just short of £1 billion. It has been criticised for being poor value for money to the taxpayer. The deal runs until 2020 and it has been claimed early cancellation would be too costly.<br /><br />But Council Deputy Leader Ian Ward (Lab, Shard End) said they are now weighing up this option. <br /><br />“We have asked officers to work out the best deal we can get on reducing the costs of these contracts, and what the financial benefits are,” he said.<br /><br />“We are asking what it would cost us to end the contract early, and then what it would cost to re-establish our own in-house IT department and call centre. We need to work those costs out over the life of the contract and work out the best deal for the taxpayer.”Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-60824193896407442912013-12-15T14:45:26.143+00:002013-12-15T14:45:26.143+00:00Happen it would have been wiser for the leaked Ris...Happen it would have been wiser for the leaked Risk Register to have been disclosed to Parliament, rather than sticking with a half-baked plan for Probation PrivatisationDavid Hursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00803126450017420488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-8114972294599188902013-12-15T14:28:23.058+00:002013-12-15T14:28:23.058+00:00Off topic again Jim sorry. But I think its somethi...Off topic again Jim sorry. But I think its something worth a mentioning when local council are about to cut back on outsourcing as a method of saving money!!!<br /><br /> http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-axe-120m-services-contracts-6407131Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-26841665294789513662013-12-15T14:14:03.724+00:002013-12-15T14:14:03.724+00:00There is also another leaked document today regard...There is also another leaked document today regarding a clandestine cap on EU immigration by the government.<br />It appears that even those involved with government policy implementation are becoming sick to the stomach of it all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-15755753998656741372013-12-15T14:09:45.106+00:002013-12-15T14:09:45.106+00:00My only comment is thank you My only comment is thank you Ian Gould @iangould5noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-7446609967041418862013-12-15T14:06:32.517+00:002013-12-15T14:06:32.517+00:00This is great news! I think contributors have been...This is great news! I think contributors have been calling for MoJ staff to do this and hey presto here it is. There can be no argument now....this excellent blog is read by MoJ !! Never look a gift horse and all that...and since there will never be a denial let us give the credit to those in MoJ who share our views and support the cause Well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-12682323154401184692013-12-15T13:45:18.025+00:002013-12-15T13:45:18.025+00:00From the centre come even more rumours of civil se...From the centre come even more rumours of civil service staff disagreeing with the TR agenda but being overruled from the top....reminiscent of the Berlin bunker in 1945Edward Snowden 2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-26385906222163685392013-12-15T13:43:18.588+00:002013-12-15T13:43:18.588+00:00Grayling will indeed be eating rats anus in the ju... Grayling will indeed be eating rats anus in the jungle next December. Like "Fred The Shred" his staff in the MOJ will loath the bully and will leak to give him what for. He's been at the top long enough now to have gained enemies, psychopathy is rife in politics and no one will give a damn when he is knifed in the back. Too much baggage now with the failing Work Programme and now the failing TR Cameron would be a fool to take Grayling into the next election as failing Minister. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy Wright jumped ship before it sinks totally because he is young ruthless and ambitious like most of them.<br /><br />Also can you imaging what would happen if the banks imploded again; we have a 300 year high in the bond market and that baby is ready to blow. Now that would slow down TR a tad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-73199998538023804822013-12-15T13:38:10.637+00:002013-12-15T13:38:10.637+00:00You can't make this stuff up!
"MPs are t...You can't make this stuff up!<br /><br />"MPs are to be given compulsory ‘honesty training’ by the standards watchdog to teach them how to behave in public life.<br /><br />The announcement comes after a number of scandals which have increased the public’s distrust of politicians.<br /><br />The training will involve practical courses in ethics similar to those given to lawyers, accountants and bankers.<br /><br />Lord Bew, the new chairman of the standards watchdog committee, told the Sunday Times: ‘People are thrust into situations they don’t expect and they are not necessarily equipped to know how to behave.’<br /><br />While acknowledging that MPs should already know what it means to be honest, Lord Bew conceded that it may be more complex than that.<br /><br />‘It’s the unexpected and complicated nature of situations you can find yourself in,’ he said.<br /><br />‘You could be starting with an honest intention but find yourself in a situation that is a bit more complicated.’<br /><br />The standards watchdog will instil the fundamental principle that MPs should behave with ‘integrity, selflessness and honesty’.<br /><br />A poll earlier this year showed that politicians are the least trustworthy professionals in Britain, behind estate agents, bankers and journalists."Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-35198432548098089842013-12-15T13:30:33.692+00:002013-12-15T13:30:33.692+00:00Off topic but somehow relevent I feel.
http://me...Off topic but somehow relevent I feel.<br /><br /> http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/15/mps-to-be-given-compulsory-honesty-training-as-public-distrust-grows-4231225/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com