As Predicted!

Thank goodness TR is officially dead! It was predicted of course. This from only a week ago:- 

Ducks Form Row

It certainly took some time, but the inevitability of a humiliating admission that TR was an unmitigated disaster of gigantic proportions and that TR2 hasn't a hope in hell of being sold to anyone as a bright new future, has at last dawned on the MoJ and its political masters. Of course it won't be spun like that because taxpayers pay for a huge team of enthusiastic young spin doctors who as we speak are developing the positive narrative that will accompany news of probation reunification.

Of course this has been on the cards for some time with the MoJ spin department having fallen silent some time ago. But we've been reading the runes; the ducks are forming up in rows and the celestial bodies are coming into alignment. The stage is set; it just needs to be packaged as an exciting, bright new future and the politicians have to save face, obviously. There has to be a role for the private sector because Tories believe in privatisation, even though it doesn't work. There has to be a role for the third sector because that gives the impression that the Tories aren't the nasty party and believe in the value of 'charity'. Of course there is the small matter of them having been royally shafted by TR, but that letter the other day ordering a 'bung' makes clear the political dimension to all this:-

"I intend to put in place a more stable and resilient probation system, which works effectively to protect the public and tackle reoffending. In that context, there is clearly value in maintaining a diverse and varied market of providers able to address the complex needs of individuals in the probation system. Organisations such as these will be key in the future market for probation services; if our failure to stand behind them results in their departure from the market, this could make it difficult for our reformed service to properly do its job from inception."

In order to save face it looks clear that the private sector will probably be rewarded with hugely-expanded tagging contracts, together with programmes and UPW along the Welsh model. The MoJ will champion the fact that they listened to the evidence from the 'sham' consultation; they heeded the stern words from Bob Neill and took on board the damning reports from the PAC and NAO. Just about everyone can claim success for this outcome; the unions, academics; campaigning groups; this blog even, but it's only a first step. It won't be like it was before and we simply must shake free of HMPPS command and control. But that's for another day folks.

--oo00oo--

This from the Guardian:-

Probation will be renationalised after disastrous Grayling reforms

The supervision of all offenders in the community is to be undertaken by the state in a major renationalisation of the probation sector, just five years after Chris Grayling introduced a widely derided programme of privatisation while justice secretary.

Under his disastrous shake-up in 2014, the probation sector was separated into a public sector organisation managing high-risk criminals and 21 private companies responsible for the supervision of 150,000 low- to medium-risk offenders. Following years of damning criticism from MPs, inspectorates and former probation officers, the justice secretary, David Gauke, has decided to bring all offender management under the National Probation Service (NPS) by spring 2021.

He said the private sector would still play a part in the provision of services, with £280m worth of contracts for rehabilitation services such as the provision of unpaid work and accredited programmes. But the core function of the service – supervising and managing about 250,000 offenders in the community – will once again be publicly provided.

Gauke said: 

“Delivering a stronger probation system, which commands the confidence of the courts and better protects the public, is a pillar of our reforms to focus on rehabilitation and cut reoffending. I want a smarter justice system that reduces repeat crime by providing robust community alternatives to ineffective short prison sentences – supporting offenders to turn away from crime for good. The model we are announcing today will harness the skills of private and voluntary providers and draw on the expertise of the NPS to boost rehabilitation, improve standards and ultimately increase public safety.”

Gauke announced last summer the contracts of eight private firms which run the 21 “community rehabilitation companies” (CRCs) in England and Wales would be terminated in 2020, two years early. This followed a £500m-plus bailout by the Ministry of Justice. But it had been the government’s intention to offer fresh contracts to private providers, under proposals put out to consultation last year. The new model will introduce 11 new probation regions in England and Wales run by the NPS. Each will have an “innovation partner”, either a private firm, charity or NGO, which will provide some rehabilitation services.

As justice secretary, Grayling ignored significant warnings from within his department to push through his so-called transforming rehabilitation reforms in 2014. In February, MPs on the public accounts committee said the changes were rushed through at breakneck speed, taking “unacceptable risks” with taxpayers’ money. The justice committee described the overhaul a “mess” and warned it might never work.

Last October the Guardian revealed the number of offenders in England and Wales charged with serious offences, including murder, manslaughter and rape, while they were being monitored in the community increased by more than a fifth in 12 months. There were 627 serious further offence (SFO) reviews conducted in 2017-18, a freedom of information request response disclosed, a 21% rise on the 517 in the previous 12-month period. SFO reviews are triggered when an offender under statutory probation supervision is charged with murder, manslaughter, rape or other serious violent or sexual offences.

Dame Glenys Stacey, the chief inspector of probation, who revealed theGrayling shake-up had led to tens of thousands of offenders – up to 40% of the total – being supervised by tphone calls every six weeks instead of face-to-face meetings, said the changes were “irredeemably flawed”.

Commenting on Gauke’s announcement, Stacey said: 

“I am delighted at the secretary of state’s decision. Probation is a complex social service, and it has proved well-nigh impossible to reduce it to a set of contractual requirements. Today’s announcement puts the focus firmly on improving the quality of probation services. More than a quarter of a million people are under probation supervision each year, and high-quality probation services can make such a difference to them and to wider society as well. Hard-pressed probation professionals now face yet more change, but I anticipate they will be in good heart. It is a chance to restore their professionalism, enabling them to make the biggest possible difference to the lives of some of the most troubled and troublesome people in society, and that is what gets probation staff up in the morning, above all.”

Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, said: 

“After putting public safety at risk and squandering hundreds of millions of pounds on trying to shore up failing private probation companies, the Tories have been forced to face reality and accept their probation model is irredeemably broken. The Tories didn’t want to make this U-turn and had been desperately trying to re-tender probation contracts to the private sector. It is right those plans have been dropped and that offender management is to be brought back in-house.”

He added: “We will press the government to ensure that probation is fully returned to being the award-winning public service it was before this disastrous Tory privatisation.”