"His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has a legal and operational duty of care to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff."
--oo00oo--
Well, the timing of the WMT switch-off becomes even more extraordinary today. HMPPS removes the tool which gives practitioners a visible measure of their workload. Today HMIP publishes national findings from all 12 regions saying workforce instability and staff shortages are directly affecting the quality and consistency of risk management and contributing to heightened risks to public protection.
And buried in the findings is perhaps the most important sentence of all: performance frameworks have prioritised “compliance with process ahead of the quality of practice.”
Read that again.
At the same time we’re talking about OFPS, reduced supervision, online reporting, Justice Transcribe, “released capacity” and all the other ways of making an overwhelmed service somehow accommodate more work, the independent inspectorate is telling us that staffing instability is already affecting public protection and that process compliance has been prioritised over practice quality.
And what happens [today?] WMT disappears.
Napo now says it “absolutely opposes” the decision and is actually advising members to capture their final WMT data before the system is switched off. Their concern is exactly the one practitioners have been raising: once there is no nationally defined measure of acceptable workload, how does an individual practitioner demonstrate objectively that what they are being asked to carry is too much?
Perhaps nobody deliberately timed these things to coincide. We don’t need a conspiracy theory because the facts are uncomfortable enough.
The independent inspector says workforce shortages are compromising public protection. The union says workloads are excessive. More demand is coming. And the employer’s response includes removing the instrument which visibly shows when workload exceeds capacity.
If WMT was flawed, improve it. If the timings were wrong, update them. If it didn’t cover enough roles, extend it. But don’t remove the thermometer while telling everyone the patient is overheating.
Anon
*****
Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) Shut Down – Napo’s PositionHMPPS have confirmed their decision to shut down the Workload Measurement Tool (WMT) at 4pm on Friday 25 September 2026.
HMPPS determination to continue with this deeply flawed and dangerous step reconfirms our assertion that they are not taking adequate steps to measure, manage and address workloads in the Probation Service.
This email contains guidance that we are asking every member who currently has access to the WMT to take. Prior to and during our ballot on industrial action we will continue to meet with HMPPS representatives to press them on what members need to see on workloads. That should not be understood by anyone as a lack of commitment on our part to conduct this ballot and then, if voted for by enough members, to take industrial action. We are disappointed that our continued engagement with the employer appears to be mischaracterised in some of their communications, to be clear there are no agreement with this decision from Napo and we are deeply concerned about what this will mean for our members.
Napo’s Position
Napo absolutely oppose this dangerous move by the employer. Our long-standing position over years has been to improve the WMT to properly reflect the excessive workloads we are dealing with in ‘Sentence Management’ and extend this tool to as many other Probation roles as possible, e.g. Prisons, Victim Liaison and Courts.
Since Napo won an extension to the employer’s plans - Employer listens to Napo - WMT extended until September! - NAPO Magazine – we’ve continued to represent members and push our position in numerous meetings with HMPPS representatives, based on the crucial demands we’re making linked to our upcoming ballot on industrial action - Napo pressing for change - 7 key issues.
Despite this HMPPS remain fixed on their decision, which we absolutely oppose. Napo’s view is that there has been ample time to properly review and extend the WMT, using the most up to date activity timings.
This change sees the employer, two years into a Labour Government, abdicate responsibility at the level of senior ‘leadership’ for defining what they believe is an acceptable level of workload for thousands of its employees. Many members have already concluded that, given its abject failure to deal with excessive workloads to this point, HMPPS have simply decided it’s easier to deny access to one of the strongest pieces of evidence employees have to show they’re being overworked.
Crucial questions remain about HMPPS’s plans, such as how reasonable adjustments can be properly applied going forward for staff in ‘sentence management’ when the employer has decided not to indicate what an acceptable level of work is for roles in this area. It’s also important that members know that while the employer has announced the introduction of a Log & View Reductions (LVR) tool from next week this has not been consulted on with the trade unions, who have also not been provided with an Equality Impact Assessment.
Next Steps
Our advice to members and Branches is to attempt to capture the relevant final WMT data as it relates to you as close to 4pm this Friday so you can refer to it over the coming weeks.
If you are going to capture this data it must only be done on a device (laptop or mobile phone) owned by MoJ/HMPPS. Under no circumstances should anyone use their personal mobile, or any other method, to do this.
If you don’t use the camera on your work phone you can take a screenshot on your laptop (that can be saved in your Pictures folder) - How to Take Screenshots on Windows 11 | Microsoft Windows
Go into the Workload Measurement Tool application.
Click through the National, Region and PDU views until you are seeing the list of names of people in your Team.
Click on your name; this should bring you to the Overview tab.
Capturing only the relevant data (Grade, Team, Capacity, Cases, Contracted Hours and Reduction) take a photo on your work phone or a screenshot on your laptop.
Click on the Capacity tab (next to Overview); this will should show a line graph representing WMT percentages for capacity and reduction for the previous 12 months.
Capturing only the graph take a photo on your work phone or a screenshot on your laptop.
For Branches:
Follow the process detailed above to capture the same Overview and Capacity data for the Region and each PDU your Branch represents (not data for individuals).
All the evidence that we have to this point indicates HMPPS do not intend to change course on this or a wide range of issues related to their failures to address the systemic problem of excessive workloads that is harming so many of us. That means we need to take collective action to protect our interests as workers.
I'm assuming NAPO have already submitted an FOI request for all communications regarding the shut off of WMT? Only way we'll fully know who proposed this and why, it either has a benign explanation or is indeed intended to f"*k us over.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the betting that they say that it’s operationally sensitive to release such information which translates as someone has had a word in the right ear…..
DeleteWell they have 20 days to reply so let's see what happens
DeleteNowt I say. To do this is beyond legislation of health and safety anyways. Napo agreed the pay and continued acceptance of those unspecified arrangements. It is on the blog a warning a discussion and yet it was agreed. I guess this must be one of those unspecified changes.
DeleteI am a bit nervous about Napo does anyone know when the general secretaries election is due next. It must be five years now and a new leader might have the right vigour for what's coming.
Good luck with this Napo you will need it as you did sort of accept the position in the last pay deal extra percent point. Shame for working staff another battle on overload.
ReplyDeleteusual napo strategy - too little, too late... 8/10 for trying to give the impression they're actually doing something.
ReplyDeleteWe all now know that hmpps merders [Old French term that translates as 'turns to shit'] everything it touches.
And so it seems the hmpps event horizon is a boundary in space and time past which nothing — not even napo — can escape.
So the darkness begins……
ReplyDeleteI wonder what duty of care might be extended to those being released early in less then a weks time? How many will be released homeless and with licence conditions that ensure their first step through the gate is their first step to recall?
ReplyDeleteI read alot yesterday about the Crown Court backlog reaching a new all time high, so really any space freed up by the early release scheme will only be filled again by those already waiting to be sentenced. Add recalls and by next April the capacity crisis in prisons will be even worse then it is now.
The 12mths and under need to be removed urgently from the automatic 12mth post sentence supervision period. It strikes me as ludicrous that when attempting to reduce prison capacity a presumption against short sentences is introduced whilst leaving those in the same cohort that are released fom custody subject to recall.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx8d3216zlmyo
'Getafix
"I wonder what duty of care might be extended to those being released early in less then a weks time?"
DeleteNone, I imagine. The hmpps focus is on their own needs & the demands of their political masters.
The moniker "Our Future Probation Service" actually means it's *Their* manufactured future probation service; there's NO "our" about it.
And those who fall foul of the justice system (if its possible to call it that these days) are not worthy of anything positive or meaningful.
If they find themselves in gaol they're two or three up in one person cells; no meaningful education; drugs & violence are rife; staff are overwhelmed & barely in control of the wings.
As & when they're released they find they're just a statistic in a system, another algorithm to process, another burden on a number of failing services - no home, no medical care, no mental health care, no dental care, barely enough funds to feed themselves let alone the habit they picked up in gaol.
The uk justice system demonstrates it has no duty of care for anyone but those in Whitehall & the chumocracy.
None as they will leave them homeless . Definitely will not put offenders in hotels either . Two tier UK .
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx8d3216zlmyo
ReplyDeleteWill prison early releases increase rough sleeping?
Andrew Parker spent years in a so-called "revolving door" of jail and homelessness as he struggled with addiction and mental health problems.
After his last release from Nottingham Prison, he bedded down on a canal towpath beneath a graffiti-covered bridge between a hotel and new apartment blocks.
"Not being able to stay dry in the rain was horrible," Andrew said. "I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
Andrew, 56, said he also struggled with loneliness and abuse - he had cans of urine thrown at him - and knows other rough sleepers who were beaten up.
Andrew now has a temporary room and a collection of second-hand books at the London Road hostel in Nottingham and said reading helped calm his anxiety.
The hostel is run by the Framework Housing Association and provides Andrew with round-the-clock support. It helps with everything from his medication to looking for suitable "move-on accommodation".
Framework's street outreach team told the BBC it had identified 467 people in Nottingham who spent at least a night sleeping rough from January to August in 2026.
Of those, 61 (13%) were newly-released prisoners, an increase on the 46 prison-leavers identified on the city's streets across the whole of 2025.
Roger Billings, locality manager for Framework, said there were a range of reasons why former prisoners could become homeless after their release.
"They mistrust authority figures, there are drug and alcohol issues, mental health issues... there may be housing restrictions, locality issues," he added.
A new prison early-release scheme, external is due to begin on 1 October, and Billings expects more former prisoners to be found sleeping rough.
He said support services were already struggling to meet demand.
He added: "Getting into housing is a massive deal to avoid a range of support issues that will escalate.
"If you don't, they fall back into the wrong crowd and there's a lot of drug using and alcoholism (that) doesn't help your mental health.
"If people are coming out of prison without a plan, it's going to increase the rate of people going onto the streets.
"It's going to increase the rate of people going back into drug use, it's going to increase anti-social behaviour and criminality."
Izzy Harris, CEO of Nottingham's Emmanuel House day centre for homeless people, believes newly-released prisoners need more coordinated and tailored support.
She said: "As a society we have to do better than people being discharged into rough sleeping."
Framework said it worked directly with prisons to identify inmates at risk of homelessness and coordinate support before their release.
"We recognise that the early release scheme may increase demand for these services, and that many people leaving prison face complex challenges," a spokesperson added.
"Release without proper planning increases the risk of rough sleeping and other harms, which is why 'through the gate' approaches are so important.
"For those who slip through the net and are released without a place to stay, our street outreach teams work hard to identify new rough sleepers and get support and housing in place quickly."
The Ministry of Justice said the prison service could offer up to 12 weeks of basic accommodation to inmates at risk of homelessness after their release.
It added that it will work with councils and charities to halve "prison leaver homelessness" by 2029.
"The prime minister has also announced a new national effort to end rough sleeping, backed by an additional £442m," a spokesperson said...
Recall him
ReplyDeleteLast 20 mins of BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning - Su McConnel of Napo interviewed by Justin Webb.
ReplyDeleteoh, they care alright...!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-guidance-core-probation-roles-and-qualification-requirements
Qualification requirements in the unified Probation Service
3. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) recognises the Probation Service is undergoing major changes arising from unification, therefore the qualification requirements in this updated statutory guidance do not constitute a significant change from previous qualification requirements in the profession. Instead, the guidance largely reaffirms the basic qualifications that have long been recognised as necessary to practice key roles effectively.
4. Specifically, the guidance restates that staff in core roles either directly managing offenders and the risk they pose, or directly supervising and signing-off this key frontline work, must hold certain essential qualifications to ensure they can discharge their public protection responsibilities effectively. For an ‘at a glance’ summary of the specific core roles and their qualification requirements, please see Table One in the guidance.
5. Due to the complexity and diversity of probation work, there are various other sources of information highlighting recommended learning, qualifications and standards for probation staff engaging in different types of roles and activities. This statutory guidance does not duplicate these sources, or provide an exhaustive list of all learning, experience and qualifications required to undertake different roles or activities in the Probation Service. Instead, it clarifies the essential minimum qualifications required to perform specific core roles. While there may be additional Probation Service roles where it is preferable to have some of the qualifications outlined here, the focus of this guidance is not to provide an extensive list of all roles where such qualifications are preferable, but rather to clarify in which roles such qualifications are an essential requirement...
Authority to Practice
19. It is imperative that staff working in the specified roles not only have the requisite qualifications, but also the necessary authority to perform their roles. Probation Service senior managers have long been responsible for authorising their staff and withdrawing or suspending their authority to practice under certain circumstances. These include a staff member:
• Leaving the Probation Service and no longer working as a paid member of staff.
• Being dismissed from the Probation Service.
• Committing, or being under investigation for, misconduct.
• Failing to demonstrate the required level of capability and performance.
• Not having the required level of enhanced security vetting. "
Timeline of recognised qualifications in probation for Probation Officers:
Delete• Pre 1996: The required qualification for Probation Officers was a social work degree or post graduate social work qualification, introduced in the 1980s.
• 1996 to 1998: The then Home Secretary mandated that Probation Officers should complete a specific probation qualification. During this period, while the probation qualification was being developed, the required qualification for Probation Officers was a social work degree with a probation component.
• 1998 to 2010: The social work degree/post graduate social work qualification was no longer the required qualification. Instead, it was mandated that from 1998 all Probation Officers should complete the, ‘Diploma in Probation Studies’, as per the guidance, ‘Regulatory Framework for Diploma in Probation Studies’. The first cohort qualified in 2001.
• 2010 to 2016: The Probation Qualification Framework (PQF) replaced the Diploma in Probation Studies as the requisite qualification.
• 2016 to the present: The Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) replaced the PQF and continues to be used.
• 2021-2024 Qualification Alignment: For staff identified as eligible under previous Statutory Guidance:
a. Formal sign-off as ‘professionally qualified’ from the Chief Probation Officer
b. The Alignment Qualification for Probation Officers
Timeline of recognised qualifications in probation for Probation Service Officers :
• Pre - 2010 - Level 3 & Level 4 NVQ in Community Justice. These qualifications were available pre 2010 when they were replaced by the level 3 Diploma in Probation Practice.
• 2014 to 2021 - Level 4 Certificate in Community Rehabilitation
• 2014 to present - Certificate or Diploma in Probation Studies at level 3
• 2024 to the present (until February 2027) - PSO Qualification Alignment
• 2025 to the present - Probation Practitioner Apprenticeship
Before all that it was a simple home office programme.
DeleteKim Thornden-Edwards is the Chief Probation Officer for England and Wales at His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
ReplyDeleteRole and Background:
* Appointed as the chief probation officer in February 2023.
* Oversees a service responsible for supervising around 240,000 offenders and former prisoners in the community.
* Focuses on workforce reform, public protection, and addressing long-standing staffing and gender imbalances within the probation sector.
* Last heard of in the media way back in April 2023 when she wanted more men to work in the probation service.
Chief Probation Officer Kim Thornden-Edwards receives an annual salary in the bracket of £170,000 to £174,999, according to public sector transparency disclosures and HMPPS Annual Report and Accounts.
That's a very expensive gag at the public's expense, doncha think?
Mickey Mouse qualifications now process driven for young robots
ReplyDeleteWhy don’t we use all the empty military accommodation across the country to house prison leavers? Answers on a postcard.
ReplyDeleteReserved for foreign national immigrants
DeleteA legal migrant would not be housed on a base . What you probably mean is “Undocumented Migrant”.
DeleteNo I mean illegal immigrants here for benefits rape and all manner of nefarious activity . It was put gently but you reframed the realities of our country.
Delete