tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post8501604695675935185..comments2024-03-28T19:11:47.821+00:00Comments on On Probation Blog: News Roundup 5Jim Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-50350184329196336902016-10-18T17:05:10.847+01:002016-10-18T17:05:10.847+01:00The troubled families initiative and TR are both i...The troubled families initiative and TR are both intended to achieve the same thing; to create the illusion that Government has 'done something' about an issue that is finding itself in the media. Once it has 'done something' it can sit back and bullshit it's way through to the next election without having to 'do something' to put right the problem in question whilst also being able to point at the something they did that is in it's early stages and is showing 'promising results'. Then, when it all fall apart, the Ministers responsible have all moved on and the new Ministers can 'do something' else. It is a great way of avoiding doing anything meaningful without being held to account.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38954489643013453182016-10-18T06:41:29.578+01:002016-10-18T06:41:29.578+01:00From BBC website re-Troubled Families Unit (it cou...From BBC website re-Troubled Families Unit (it could be about TR?):<br /><br />"Local authorities are paid up to £4,000 on a payment-by-results basis for turning around the hardest-to-help families.<br />The government has previously heralded the success of the scheme, with ministers saying the lives of tens of thousands of families had been "turned around".<br />It was later extended from 2015 for a further five years, to cover another 400,000 families at a further cost of £900m.<br />'No consistent evidence'<br />However, analysis by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) found no consistent, measurable evidence that the scheme had improved the lives of families it aimed to help.<br />Using data from a quarter of the families that had taken part in the first stage of the programme, NIESR calculated that there were "a very small number of positive or negative results".<br />"Across a wide range of outcomes, covering the key objectives of the Troubled Families Programme - employment, benefit receipt, school attendance, safeguarding and child welfare - we were unable to find consistent evidence that the programme had any significant or systematic impact," the report stated.<br />Jonathan Portes, one of the authors of the report, wrote that the programme was a "perfect case study of how the manipulation and misrepresentation of statistics by civil servants and politicians led to bad policy making and the wasting of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-26334945486701113732016-10-18T06:37:08.014+01:002016-10-18T06:37:08.014+01:00A total of 40 organisations and experts in childre...A total of 40 organisations and experts in children's social care have joined forces to oppose controversial plans to let councils apply to be exempted from their statutory duties.<br /><br />Provisions contained in the new Children and Social Work Bill, which is currently going through parliament, are intended to give councils the ability "to test different ways of working" within children's services by exempting them from "requirements imposed by children's social care legislation".<br /><br />Concerns have previously been raised that the bill poses a "huge threat" to the rights of vulnerable children and young people.<br /><br />Concerned that the legislation could result in children being exposed to "a postcode lottery of protection", 40 organisations and experts have joined forces to fight the plans.<br /><br />The group, calling itself Together for Children, has launched a website by the same name. Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38054304652786264112016-10-18T06:36:22.057+01:002016-10-18T06:36:22.057+01:00New report out today - Troubled Families Unit has ...New report out today - Troubled Families Unit has cost £Hundreds of Millions of public money but hasn't done diddly squat - no measurable impact whatsoever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-27044824166655872482016-10-18T06:04:08.205+01:002016-10-18T06:04:08.205+01:00Consultants have been at the heart of government s...Consultants have been at the heart of government since the late 60s. Under Harold Wilson’s technocratic revolution, the civil service wasn’t trusted to deliver radical reform. The then minister of technology, Tony Benn, believed outside experts were the only way to make change happen. And so the allure of the “expert” was cemented in the minds of politicians of all political persuasions, and parts of Whitehall’s civil service were sidelined.<br /><br />Some accountants and IT managers turned consultants, became outsourcing suppliers, running everything from prisons to road maintenance. They had figured out that actually running a contract worth billions was more lucrative than advising on who should run it, for mere millions.<br /><br />McKinsey & Company has advised and restructured everyone from the White House to General Motors since the 1920s. But it has also been entangled in Enron and John Major’s privatisation of Britain’s railways. Firms such as McKinsey have been at the heart of government for so long, they arguably now provide the continuity and in-house knowledge the civil service once did, so the question is: what’s the problem?<br /><br />The answer might be lack of transparency, which creates suspicion, even if it may be unfounded. There are good consultants out there, doing valuable work helping public services in critical condition stay alive. Their work is focused and necessary but here’s the key thing: they walk away when the job is done. It’s just the other kind we should worry about.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-70054462148361016852016-10-18T06:03:12.751+01:002016-10-18T06:03:12.751+01:00How management consultants are cashing in on auste...How management consultants are cashing in on austerity<br /><br />Since 2010, when the coalition embarked on austerity, one profession has turned cuts to the public sector into a business opportunity: management consultants.<br /><br />How did they get the gig? Are they doing essential work for beleaguered services or are they charlatans with a PowerPoint presentation?<br /><br />You might ask why Whitehall and councils can’t make these decisions for themselves, but the severity of the cuts has meant that the people who normally make the cuts have themselves been cut. An entire strata of bureaucracy has disappeared, and management consultants have filled the hole. They advise on decisions that will profoundly alter the shape of public services in Britain, and so how they make these judgments is crucially important.<br /><br />David Craig, a former management consultant with 30 years’ experience, explains that their aggressive business plan involves a problem-finding strategy.<br /><br />“What you’re looking for is something that gives a big emotional shock to the client. We want to take them to what we call the ‘valley of death’.”<br /><br />The “valley of death” is the apocalypse scenario, telling the troubled organisation that if they don’t do something huge and expensive to change quickly, it’s going to fail, fast.<br /><br />Very few organisations need a complete overhaul; they need sensible tweaks. But this, Craig says, doesn’t sound dramatic. That’s why you hear consultants refer continuously to “transformation programmes”.<br /><br />“Once we’ve taken them into the valley of death, it’s time for salvation. Now we go to the sunny uplands: it’s bad, it’s really bad, but working together we can save the situation. It’ll only cost you two or three million, or maybe you need to buy a computer system for another 50 million.”<br /><br />This strategy of finding things to fix once you’ve got your foot in the door is known in the trade as “land and expand”. “You start to uncover issues in an organisation and put them under pressure,” says John Bennett, a former management consultant to the public sector. But is this cynical or just good business?<br /><br />In Wales, PricewaterhouseCoopers rolled out a template called an “operating model assessment” across numerous councils, pocketing more than £5m. But this initial work, Bennett says, was to land bigger money with something called a “risk and reward” contract. Instead of accepting a fee upfront, the consultancy firm takes a percentage on any savings it can find. The more cuts that are made, the more money it takes.<br /><br />One council in south Wales entered into a “risk and reward” contract that reportedly netted PwC 16% profits on all cuts made.<br /><br />This might seem outrageous, but it’s a neat solution to a tricky situation. Councils accused of hiring expensive consultants can use a contract that avoids upfront money. And consultants have a stake in working hard to find new savings rather than rolling out a template.<br /><br />PwC says: “It is important that our work delivers a tangible return on taxpayers’ investment. Our fees are often – and increasingly – dependent on the performance of our services, whereby we are only paid in full if we deliver the full benefits agreed.”<br /><br />But is it morally right that management consultants are making a profit from cuts to public services? “I think it’s absolutely right that they should be rewarded for achieving what the public sector wants to achieve,” says Alan Leaman, chief executive of the Management Consultancies Association.<br /><br />Anthony Hunt, the leader of another Welsh council, Torfaen, says that if the advice leads to some services being protected, then it’s a price worth paying. The danger comes when “strategic partnerships” with consultants create a dependency on consultants.Jim Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00258147767051200157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-40007243254473015372016-10-18T05:52:52.181+01:002016-10-18T05:52:52.181+01:00What hasn't ceased to appal me is the astoundi...What hasn't ceased to appal me is the astounding dishonesty of the MOJ. They wanted to make TR a reality by hook or by crook, they lied and manipulated and pulled strings. No one dealing with these people would surely be able to trust or take seriously anything coming from those quarters. MOJ are a "lie machine". Is MOJ necessarily that different just because Chris Grayling has departed? Is it not still staffed by people who are happy to use all their cleverness in the employ of deceit if that is what is demanded of you? If you worked in the MOJ or in NOMS, would you not try to counteract this ethos of clever lying which seems to dominate there in some way? Don't we all have a degree of power in the way we choose to operate in our work roles? Is not each employee to some degree responsible ? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-32733780911683464952016-10-17T23:55:52.066+01:002016-10-17T23:55:52.066+01:00Too many assumptions. Any Probation practitioner w...Too many assumptions. Any Probation practitioner worth his or her salt places Probation values at the Centre of their practice. They've had to demonstrate this as part of VQ standards if followed VQ3 or VQ5 Awards.However, the new management brought in by CRC's have no understanding of traditional Probation values and are only concerned with meeting targets and financial restrictions.Very sad state of affairs and parallel worlds which are clashing on a daily basis. If you wish to see any integrity from management, wait until you see Peppa Pig and her family descending from up above.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-14813827180895575502016-10-17T23:17:58.096+01:002016-10-17T23:17:58.096+01:00Maybe Napo could think of joining too http:...Maybe Napo could think of joining too http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2002516/experts-join-forces-to-fight-exemption-clauseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-16407424570135327272016-10-17T22:46:51.809+01:002016-10-17T22:46:51.809+01:00... and as Tesco pays for overtime it's also a...... and as Tesco pays for overtime it's also a better paid job!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-33897507520732274682016-10-17T22:32:13.448+01:002016-10-17T22:32:13.448+01:00You might be surprised at how many have considered...You might be surprised at how many have considered Tesco as an option given how great TR and sibling TTG are. Not as enbarassing as one consideration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-24651109947477462582016-10-17T22:09:25.629+01:002016-10-17T22:09:25.629+01:00TTG and TR is brilliant. It you spend less time mo...TTG and TR is brilliant. It you spend less time moaning and more time doing your career may take off. Otherwise, go work for tescos if you're not happy. Just leave and do all us a favour. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-55906096903569365382016-10-17T21:44:41.414+01:002016-10-17T21:44:41.414+01:00.. and look how many former probation managers, se..... and look how many former probation managers, senior managers and chief officers became consultants and bid writers for the big private companies in the run up to TR!! Shame on them all, not for earning a crust but for intentionallly and knowingly shafting us before, during and after they earned it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-9566155764236034102016-10-17T21:32:46.958+01:002016-10-17T21:32:46.958+01:00https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/17/m...https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/17/management-consultants-cashing-in-austerity-public-sector-cutsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-53479017613797376022016-10-17T20:50:07.479+01:002016-10-17T20:50:07.479+01:00In my experience TTG and all it's contracted s...In my experience TTG and all it's contracted services have not helped anybody. Some used to be good projects/services but no more as the remit is now to seek maximum revenue for minimum effort. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-30813615356330461622016-10-17T20:32:32.408+01:002016-10-17T20:32:32.408+01:00Credit to Emily and Lisa. Well all know housing is...Credit to Emily and Lisa. Well all know housing is a big issue. After sex offenders and arsonists, burglars are probably the next hardest to house. However......this is one case out of many hundreds that must get released homeless. One swallow does not a summer make! For them to highlight they have got a house just further reinforces how lamentable the whole TTG scheme is. <br /><br />Lame :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-24568480862012098602016-10-17T20:10:22.492+01:002016-10-17T20:10:22.492+01:00The answer was 2 !!!The answer was 2 !!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-41676213876625166932016-10-17T20:08:34.712+01:002016-10-17T20:08:34.712+01:00First up, have a happy time away Jim, and thank yo...First up, have a happy time away Jim, and thank you for your endless service.<br />Now: housing. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. There are so many processes and so many contracts all held by organisations busy ticking boxes to meet their contracts. As ever, it comes down to commitment and a meaningful relationship with the client. My experience is that really great workers in agencies attached to the case bring expertise, but in the end are bringing it to the case, not the person. It's an effort of will and commitment to keep on in there with the person, and this is what we do. As in, not letting it go when the accommodation is got (tick box) but check your client is equipped to cope<br />anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15359540301847252660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-38595788013631368762016-10-17T20:07:42.571+01:002016-10-17T20:07:42.571+01:00Excuse my manners... I meant to say 'he or she...Excuse my manners... I meant to say 'he or she'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-64939703055252345492016-10-17T20:04:21.938+01:002016-10-17T20:04:21.938+01:00Don't mock it. He may only be one but with Lis...Don't mock it. He may only be one but with Lisa and Emily on board he'll find flats for all 1600+ inmates before lunchtime. Perhaps will even have time for a bit of moonlighting housing a few poorly paid prison officers!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-68465454537227098722016-10-17T18:12:58.353+01:002016-10-17T18:12:58.353+01:00Ask Interserve how many Shelter staff involved in ...Ask Interserve how many Shelter staff involved in TTG are located at HMP Liverpool<br /> Clue: More than 1 but less than 3!!!!!<br />Serving a prison holding 1600+..........<br />Its a total sham/scamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-32660642607010231862016-10-17T18:02:07.234+01:002016-10-17T18:02:07.234+01:00a PD1 received today from the prison had no releas...a PD1 received today from the prison had no release address on it - emailed them and the response was 'ring Shelter on 0300.... Rang shelter to be told 'its not our job to run round for offender info' agreed with her and the PD1 was sent back with 'unable to complete as insufficient information provided for address check despite a 2nd request'. Stuff em.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-22452640328757275322016-10-17T16:55:41.065+01:002016-10-17T16:55:41.065+01:00re 1451 - yes,I agree - I'm just retired and o...re 1451 - yes,I agree - I'm just retired and old fashioned, with mellow memories - wish those fuzzy fairies could close their eyes, whisper an 'all ok' spell and wave their magic wands, and CG and the other baddies all disappear in a puff of smoke, or a huge bl..dy explosion - and we all live happily ever after.. <br /><br />(I didn't type out that really naughty word in case I was moderated)mlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-78283629875662232952016-10-17T16:53:38.838+01:002016-10-17T16:53:38.838+01:00Big WOW for Shelter - one person homed lol Big WOW for Shelter - one person homed lol Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578343158425987632.post-81814029890989055202016-10-17T14:51:53.686+01:002016-10-17T14:51:53.686+01:00"I thought that TTG was brought into existenc..."I thought that TTG was brought into existence ONLY for those who were serving less than 12 months? This man got 3 yrs."<br /><br />Come, come, ml, now you're just being picky with the facts. What's wrong with simply swallowing the whole warm & fuzzy TTG fairy story and to hell with reality?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com