Regular readers, especially those associated with the MTC Novo-run CRCs, will be fully aware of Helga Swidenbank. Over the years we've covered the goings-on many times, so the following shot over the bows from an irritated Sir Bob Neill, Chair of the Justice Select Committee to Robert Buckland, Secretary of State for Justice, will be of interest:-
By Email 21 April 2021
Dear Robert
It has been drawn to the Committee’s attention that Helga Swidenbank, the Executive Director of the Youth Custody Service, who gave evidence with you to the Committee on 9 March this year in regard to the Urgent Notification Procedure recently raised over Rainsbrook STC had previously worked for Rainsbrook’s operator, MTC, as director of the London CRC it ran and, briefly, as effective interim managing director before David Hood filled that role in 2017.
While we appreciate that these facts are publicly available and that no rule was broken, we feel that it would have been appropriate, given the subject matter under discussion, for Ms Swidenbank to have declared her obvious interest in MTC during the session, particularly given how clear it must have been that MTC’s performance at Rainsbrook had been severely criticized and was likely to attract comment from the Committee.
We would ask that, as a matter of good practice, any civil servant appearing before the Committee in future be encouraged to make any such interest clear and transparent during the evidence session, and we would appreciate a commitment from you to that effect as soon as is possible.
I am copying this letter to Helga Swidenbank.
Best wishes
Sir Robert Neill MP
Another perfect example of why private enterprise has no place in public services. In the end they become so entwined you lose sight of who you actually serve.
ReplyDeleteAs Mr Neil pointed out, it is a matter of public record, and Undoubtedly that will be Bucklands response. I rather think however that even if Swidenbanks relationship with MTC was declared at the commitee it would have made little difference to the responses she gave. The corporate confidentiality card would have been played.
Just another example of low integrity by another Tory minister and Co. I'm afraid.
Nothing less they what we've come to expect.
'Getafix
I have been regularly critical of the JSC and thus by association of its chair, Sir Bob Neill, for being helpless bystanders at a series of related disasters rather than robustly holding people to account for the ongoing shitshow.
ReplyDeleteSir Bob does, however, occasionally pop his very polite head up over the parapet to make excellent points in a measured & proper manner. And for that, Sir Bob, I am very appreciative. Its a pity that those you are critical of either don't understand or don't care about your comments, and as such they continue to pocket vast sums of public cash believing themselves to be "excellent leaders". It could be funny if it were not such a tragic & woeful state of affairs.
Sadly any and all 'shots across the bows' have come far too late for those who were jettisoned overboard off the coast of TR1 some years ago; and equally for those who are about to find out if they can swim in the murky waters of TR2.
The Pirateers & their cheerleaders have won. Their 'arrangement' with The Establishment has meant they've been free to plunder the public purse, to rape & pillage the assets of the Probation Service & to endow themselves with all kinds riches, enjoying their ill-gotten gains squatting in upper deck state rooms.
Meantime, deep in the dank bowels, those pulling on the oars scrabble to survive the journey as the remaining colleagues - those who haven't already been thrown overboard - become increasingly tired, sick, or just 'sick & tired' of the whole debacle.
So all I'd ask is that next time, Sir Bob, you realign your sights & hit them where they it will have the greatest impact - in their pocketses.
Buckland is no stranger to the art of concealing the truth. He conveniently forgot to inform Cameron that he had been brought before the bar for misconduct when appointed Solicitor General. He remains in the cabinet because he's a Tory who will look the other way from his Tory mates underhand dealings.
DeleteHe himself may warrent a little attention with his association with Thara Properties and his Tory chum Gagan Mohindra.
100 days or so ago the USA got rid of their incompetent Covid-denying leader; Bolsonaro is facing backlash in Brazil; now India has landed a blow on its own incompetent Covid-denying leader:
ReplyDelete"Narendra Modi loses key state election as Covid grips India - Prime minister defeated in West Bengal as voters send message over handling of coronavirus crisis"
So, May 6 - time the UK showed some courage & gave our very own incompetent incumbent liar the message that he's not wanted either.
100 percent with but not a chance. The blonde blob will ride it out as usual because that is exactly what his key skill is. The public will forget 200k dead. The faux reporting on 28days what about the deaths after 28. The blonded liar will not be seen for his dilliatory response to close uk plc fast enough. He won't be seen as irresponsible for running the Cheltenham gold cup spread it like fu** horses.
DeleteHe won't be seen as the guy who called the military in too late betrayed the NHS. Has the luxury of intensive care angels but ditches their value. He will be playing the vaccination card zenica and roll out. He claims the plan of saviour in a Churchillian war footing. He claims the high ground because he thinks entitlement. He will claim the UK is alive in recovery because he planned that for us. It will pass shortly more Tories in councils than ever the Boris bounce and the rest is our lookout. What a shame starmer is so clueless and looking less electable than Corbyn . At least we all knew who Corbin is. I'm begging to think voters just vote for the winner like a punt than an analysis.
I think that's a nailed on sentiment that I've believed for some time now,a lot of votes cast are based on who might be the winner, and nothing about what they represent.
DeleteMay aswell use the x factor app to vote!
I do feel however, that Thursdays elections may give some strange and unpredictable results. I really get the feeling that people are sick to the back teeth with both of the main parties, and as its not a general election, I think many may take the opertuity to 'experiment' with their vote and see what happens. I feel many of the smaller parties and particularly the independents could do surprisingly well.
I think these will be very odd, nut interesting elections indeed.
'Getafix
@14.26 please can you explain what you mean by covid denier? Are you saying those people and by implication Johnson, deny covid exists? You shouldn't describe someone as denying covid because they choose to pursue other strategies. After all, there is unanimous agreement that lockdowns have led to an increase in cancer deaths due to delayed treatment etc but you wouldn't describe someone arguing in favour of lockdowns as being a cancer denier surely?
Delete@18.07 it was right that the reporting was changed to within 28 days and even that definition leads to an overreporting as this analysis from Oxford university explains:
When a high number of people are testing positive for Covid, a certain proportion of those people will naturally die within 28 days.
"Between April 7 and April 15, some 17,061 people tested positive for coronavirus - of which 11 (0.066 per cent) would be expected to die naturally within 28 days - or 1.5 people a day, according to death rates from the Office of National Statistics for this time of year."
So with this current definition we will never reach zero deaths due to people testing positive dying of other causes.
Lockdowns have not increased the number of cancer deaths.
DeleteThere has been an increase in cancer deaths, but it's been caused by delays in treatments and diagnostics because hospitals have been overwhelmed with COVID patiants.
It's those that won't follow the rules, happy to spread the virus that are responsible for the rise in cancer mortality.
It's selfish self centred bastards that are killing people, not lockdowns.
I thought that the roles played by Johnson et al in prioritising an 'economy-first/let the bodies pile up' approach to the coronavirus pandemic were pretty much self-evident. Clearly I was wrong.
Delete1. Trump denied covid's seriousness to begin with comparing it to mild flu; when it began to cause difficulties it was the fault of the Chinese; even after enduring a period of infection & hospitalisation he persisted in minimising the severity of the infection & frustrating efforts to deal with the contagion in favour of economic benefits (and, he thought, votes).
2. Bolsonaro followed a similar trajectory but held a much harder line & happily threw his nation's population under a bus as a consequence - in fact it seems much of South America is now suffering as a direct result of his inaction.
3. Modi was equally dismissive of the risks of covid to the point of saying India had "beaten" the virus at the beginning of 2021. His refusal to take matters seriously has resulted in the ongoing tragic circumstances in India.
4. Johnson was initially sceptical of the enormity of the risks and, despite subsequently becoming gravely ill with the virus, has spent much of his time since his own recovery determined to prioritise the economy over public health.
As such, they all initially doubted the reports (Johnson never went to the relevant COBR meetings for two months) & they all denied/minimised the severity/enormity of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Being 'in denial' doesn't mean one necessarily denies the existence of; it more commonly means one ignores, minimises or is avoidant of the issue in hand.
It used to be a well-understood & common frustration faced by Probation Service staff. It was a very popular trait amongst sex offenders & domestic abuse perpetrators, i.e. something happened but it was never their fault, they weren't to blame, it was always someone else who caused it to happen, they were often heroically trying to stop it happening, etc etc etc, blah blah blah, lie lie lie.
I find it really baffling, but highly amusing, that it's those that voted in this lying, corrupt, incompetent self-serving Tory government that are now whinging loudest about the policies they're implementing.
DeleteIt's like all those Brexiteers with economy first attitudes that are now demanding the right to travel abroad on holidays to any number of EU countries to spend their money, ploughing cash into EU economies, whilst our own economy suffers!
Im sure the French will be grateful for all the money that Scarborough could be getting!
It'll be tears about the duty free allowences and holiday insurance next!
If you voted them in then don't complain.
It's all self inflicted!
'Getafix
Getafix the issue is that those of us who voted for this government did so because we wanted lower taxes, Brexit and greater personal freedoms. What we've ended up with is a government obsessed with advancing the green agenda and restricting our personal freedoms by locking us down in our homes and muzzling us with face masks.
DeleteI understood and accepted the need for lockdowns and face masks previously but now the vulnerable have been vaccinated we need to get back to normal and open back up without delay.
Ok that's enough politics.
DeleteCompare & Contrast:
ReplyDelete"Priti Patel has today blasted Extinction Rebellion activists for using 'dangerous tactics in the name of environmentalism'. Ms Patel added: “The (Policing Bill) powers will help the police to balance the rights of protesters to demonstrate peacefully against the rights of others to go about their daily business and to dedicate their resources to keeping the public safe. That is democracy in action.” " (no-one was hurt & no-one was threatened with viuolence - except the XR protesters)
"Boris Johnson says he understands fans’ feelings after Old Trafford invasion... Fans broke into the stadium on Sunday while outside the ground bottles and barriers were thrown at police officers and horses... Greater Manchester police said two officers were injured, with one suffering “life-changing” eye injuries from a “significant” slash wound to the face...."
Its all about privatisation & money - again!!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/04/usman-khan-mentor-visits-stopped-weeks-before-terror-attack-inquest-told
The convicted terrorist Usman Khan stopped getting regular mentor visits aimed at preventing him reoffending because of a Home Office contract dispute weeks before his deadly attack at Fishmongers’ Hall, an inquest has heard.
In November 2019, within a year of being released from prison on licence, Khan killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones at prison education event at the hall.
An inquest into their deaths was told that initially after his release Khan was “making progress” thanks in part to twice weekly visits from mentors under the government’s desistance and disengagement programme.
But these visits suddenly stopped in August due to a contractual dispute, the inquest was told. It also heard that this occurred at a “critical” stage when Khan was moving out of an approved probation hostel and struggling to find work. And weeks later police became alarmed about Khan becoming isolated, the inquest was told.
Phil Bromley, Khan’s counter-terrorism probation officer, confirmed to the inquest that Khan was progressing well with the help of the mentors in May 2019.
Jonathan Hough, QC, counsel for the inquest, read out an assessment Bromley made of Khan at the time. He said: “On 15 May 2019 you record that: ‘Usman Khan continues to make good progress. Working with a practical mentor twice a week, although this may reduce to once a week. Also engages with religious mentor once a month’.”
Hough told the inquest at the Guildhall, London, how these mentor arrangements came to a sudden halt.
He said: “He [Khan] had had these mentors coming to see him once or twice a week, and then it stopped, because I think of a contract issue between the companies that provide the mentors and the Home Office.”
Bromley confirmed the lack of mentors hampered Khan’s efforts to find work because under his licence arrangement he was not allowed to access the internet without supervision by a mentor.
He said he and Khan’s main probation officer, Ken Skelton, tried but failed to find replacement mentors. He said: “I don’t think we came up with a solution because of the time and what happened. We were looking at potentially either Mr Skelton or potentially I think it was Ixion who are an agency that we were working with with Mr Khan … but we never got there.”
Henry Pitchers QC, counsel to the family of Jones, read an email from Bromley in September 2019 expressing concern about the lack of mentors following the contractual dispute. Bromley’s email said: “We are at a point of transition for Usman given he’ll be moving on from approved premises soon, which is always a critical stage. So the timing isn’t great. So I would certainly support him being assigned another mentor if possible.”
Pitchers said: “We know that no mentoring took place in September, October, November, and that that lack of mentoring, would mean an absence of potentially protective factor.”
Bromley replied: “Yes.”
Weeks later police expressed concern about Khan becoming isolated and raised this at a multi-agency public protection arrangement (Mappa) meeting about Khan. Hough said: “Staffordshire special branch had concerns about him being socially isolated. And that was raised both in the Mappa meeting in November 2019, and in some email communications.”
Previewing evidence to come, Hough said: “We are likely to hear that seasoned professionals in this field had concerns or expressed concerns about Mr Khan being socially isolated, so not simply a business as usual matter but specific concerns.”
The inquest continues.
I find this piece so sad on so many different levels. My heart goes out to the probation officers involved, the victims and indeed Mr Khan's family and friends.
DeleteMy sadness is about the principle of "outsourcing" and how process driven probation has become - this is NOT a criticism of any staff members involved, rather how disposable and mechanistic services have become - so replacing one paid mentor with another, as if Mr Khan himself had no say in who he would spend his time with as someone was accompanying him to use the internet. I don't disagree at all that a strong mentor/mentee relationship can have powerful impact for some people...what I do disagree with is the disempowering of the probation/probationer relationship, which is no longer valued as itself a vehicle for such a relationship. I look at these new "contracted out" services under the new "Target operating model" - ETE, housing, personal wellbeing, family support, drugs/alcohol, mental health services, GP, jobcentre, accredited programmes....is this new model expecting service users to attend with 9 different agencies/professionals? And if so, precisely what exactly is the role of the probation officer - to "manage the risk" I'm told - quite how anyone would want to engage with me when I myself, directly, have nothing to practical to offer and therefore how I can be expected to "manage risk" when the service provision is so fragmented among so many different agencies I don't know? Can anyone else help me here? As I say, no, I don't consider that probation should "only" be delivered solely through one individual - but should I be worried about the case management approach which the Target Operating Model seems to aspire to?
I used to love delivering supervision sessions; an example might be practicing an interview let's just say, which has underlying links with addressing risk factors relating to gaining improved confidence, life skills, interacting appropriately with others, expressing yourself - or shall I just say "thinking skills" in OASYS speak. Nowadays, would I be criticised because my job is about "motivating him to attend ETE", or "referring him to TSP"? I'm aghast at what probation has become.
Johnson must be the most compromised - and commodotised - PM in British history?
ReplyDelete"Labour has renewed calls for Boris Johnson to come clean about his dealings with Tory donors after Downing Street refused to say whether he had asked for help with childcare costs.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson had covered all the costs for childcare for his one-year-old son Wilfred himself.
However the spokesman refused to be drawn on whether the Prime Minister had previously approached supporters to pay for a nanny.
The Sunday Times quoted one party backer as complaining that they had been asked for a donation, adding: “I don’t mind paying for leaflets but I resent being asked to pay to literally wipe the Prime Minister’s baby’s bottom.”
In response, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has covered the costs of all childcare. I have nothing more to add to that. I am not going to be getting into any more detail.”
Gavin Cordon PA Media 4 May 2021, 2:17 pm
Yet Boris seems to be able to cut through with the working class voters of Hartlepool in a way that Keir Starmer and Labour cannot. At least judging by the latest polls showing a 17 point lead for the Tories there and BJ's high approval ratings there. I'm not sure I fully understand how he does it.
DeleteDifficult to see how Labour can move forward. I think they need an authentic working class northern leader who understands the values of aspiration and national pride to win back the red wall but then they'd probably lose the students and the big cities. So they're in a pickle.
Did anyone see the last episode of Line of Duty? The point made is that corruption often parades as incompetence. He's right. It's there all the time. Probation, Senior Management, Parliament, the PM. It's a comfortable place to hide.
ReplyDeleteGood luck 123 your getting free. I was aware of a Napo group wanting retired members rights. I think it was started by one of the older reps clinging onto nothing. I don't think it took off. Whatever flag you fly I hope you continue to contribute to JB enjoy some of your views.
ReplyDelete