The Trade Union and Professional Association for Family Court and Probation Staff

A busy day today with the NEC meeting till 6pm. One of the issues we discussed was the situation facing Unpaid Work. As previously reported we know that ITV is broadcasting a programme about UPW tomorrow which involved providing some people on projects with cameras. It appears the intention of the programme is to highlight deficiencies in the supervision of projects.

A lot of questions arise about who was behind this and their motivation. Napo has taken the opportunity to point out some of the problems faced by those supervising projects in relation to threats and abuse, gang related attacks, large group sizes, poor pay and inadequate training. It got a lot of coverage in the media http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2...ork-attack-supervisors . We were shocked by the number and seriousness of the incidents described by branches in response to our request for information.

There are those within the Service who feel we should lie low in the face of attacks on the work probation staff undertake. I can't agree. There is a huge amount of good work going on in UPW but there are also bad things happening to both staff and those on orders. We have to point this out and make the case for more resources and training not destructive cuts. If you keep quiet you will be ignored.

Spent last weekend in Edinburgh watching a lot of comedy at the festival. However, I also saw some theatre. My son was appearing in a production of 'A Clockwork Orange' and I was pleasantly surprised, as I took my seat, to bump into Professor Mike Nellis, an old friend of Napo, who is teaching criminology at the University of Strathclyde these days.

Turns out that Mike is a big fan of Anthony Burgess' book so looks out for productions of it. Your reviewer is a tad biased of course but at the end of the excellent and powerful performance Mike and I both turned to each other and said simultaneously 'rehabilitation revolution'! It was striking how much of the language of the characters - Government Ministers, social workers, doctors, prison governors - resonated with what we are hearing today about payment by results and the ends, essentially, justifying the means.

It was something of a chilling experience but seeing Mike reminded me that the Probation Service has many good friends. It also reinforced my belief that we must continue to ensure that humanity and compassion are at the centre of the work we do and that individual choice, for good or ill, is a necessity in a civilised society.

A sober return to work with the news of a 'leaked' letter from the Finance Director of the MoJ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10925989 . The appearance of this letter makes the cynic in me wonder if this was deliberately released to test the water, in the midst of the summer holiday period, ahead of future announcements of cuts across the public services.

We may never know but there is also growing evidence of scare stories about the Probation Service appearing in the media in the coming weeks. Some might describe it as a softening up process or even a conspiracy. I am not not normally a conspiracy theorist but if this letter accurately predicts the cuts that are intended for the MoJ the warnings we and other unions are making about meltdown in the CJS will be proved, regrettably, to be true.

So it's straight back into the fray. This news can only increase our collective determination to protect the Service as part of our commitment to maintaining public services. It is becoming a real test of the sort of society we want to live in - fence sitting is no longer a morally acceptable option.

Napo has learned that Roger Hill, the DOM for the South East, has decided that Community Payback and Approved Premises services within the South East region must be put out for competitive tendering.

Some Chiefs in the region have made clear to staff their displeasure about this pronouncement. I gather from our branches that alternatives involving retention of these key areas of work were put to Mr Hill by the trusts but he declined to follow the proposals suggested to him. Nationally Napo is contacting the Probation Association and Unison. The probation unions are due to meet with Crispin Blunt next week for the first time and will raise this issue with the Minister.

We have often complained about the under representation of probation in NOMS with only one DOM (Roger Hill) coming from a probation background. However with 'friends' like Mr Hill who needs enemies? We will not let this lie and I hope that others will join us in opposing this appalling and unnecessary decision.

Not the happiest of notes on which to pause for a summer break but I am signing off now for a couple of weeks. It's a tough road ahead but all of us committed to the work of the Probation Service and Cafcass are ready for whatever lies ahead.

Spent Sunday and Monday at Napo's Learning and Development Conference. It was a very successful event and the focus on the Probation Qualifying Framework was well received by those in attendance. The speeches and discussion made clear that we have a framework in place that offers significant opportunites for continual professional development for many staff - as long as it is supported by employers and provided with the necessary resources to enable it to work.

Yesterday I attended the Howard League Conference in London http://www.howardleague.org/co...programmes-conference/ . I was invited to speak about the future of the Probation Service and I gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the reasons probation should be at the centre of sentencing reform in the future. I can only say 'should' of course as the Government's true agenda remains unclear. I have attached my speech so you can read it in full.

The 'star' speaker was Max Clifford. He provided some interesting insights into the media world spiced up with celebrity anecdotes. He clearly feels sympathy with the principle of prison reform though he made it clear that in developing a media strategy nobody in the room could afford him!

As you may have heard five Napo Officers and Officials are going to run a 10K charity race in Regents Park in September to raise money for the Edridge Fund. I am currently in training (which is more than can be said for some of my colleague runners from what I understand!) though it is temporarily suspended after I picked up a cold at the weekend.

You can find information about the run on the Napo site here with a link to the justgiving site for your donation. If you are able to support us please accept my heartfelt thanks. We have set a challenging target so every penny will be welcome.

I will pass over the performance of the Dutch team at the weekend. Annoesjka tells me that the name of one of the team's substitutes literally translates as 'niceness'. There wasn't much evidence of that on the pitch last night!

Edited: 12/07/2010 at 05:53 PM by jonathanledger

Over the past month I have attended AGMs in five branches, the most recent of them in Wolverhampton. I was very pleased to be invited to speak at the inaugural AGM of Staffordshire and West Midlands branch.

I have been really encouraged by the attendance at these meetings and the number of members coming forward to serve in an elected capacity. The union is blessed with so many committed activists and in that lies our greatest strength. That was underlined this week when, at the close of nominations, I had received five nominations for the two probation vice chair posts. The ballot will commence at the end of the month.

I have avoided commenting about the world cup despite my love of football. But then there hasn't been much to talk about from a parochial point of view! However, at Napo we have a Dutch colleague who has been having a month to remember. So, in solidarity with Annoesjka, it's 'hup hup Holland' for Sunday!

So what are we to make of Ken Clarke's speech on criminal justice reform to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies this week http://www.justice.gov.uk/sp300610a.htm ? There is much in it about the pointlessness of short term prison sentences, a point made by Napo just last week, that we would support as we do the arguments for increasing the use of community supervision. There is even a reference to the work of our members in the family courts sensibly highlighting the inadequacies of the adversarial system when addressing the best interests of children.

Setting aside the inevitable preoccupation with the rehabilitation revolution (blogs passim) and the worrying talk of payment by results, what struck me most of all was the absence of any reference in this major policy speech to the Probation Service. So much of what was discussed involves the work of Probation it can hardly be regarded as casual oversight.

Our efforts to engage ministers directly in discussion continue to fall on stony ground and rumours abound of internal strife amongst officials in relation to this subject. Nearly two months after I wrote to Mr Clarke welcoming him to his new office I am yet to receive even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. The Prisons and Probation Minister has responded but the type of engagement between us is still being discussed.

The failure to acknowledge and value the work of the Service in this important speech suggests that, whether they like it or not, ministers need to make talking to Napo a matter of the highest priority. We will continue to make our voice heard and will trumpet the work of the Service for all we are worth.

So the Budget has been announced and we have witnessed the first stage of the threatened severe cuts to public services http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10380221.stm . Savings of 25% from non protected departments over the next 4 years would simply implode many key public services.

In relation to criminal justice, that is part of the reason we called for an end to pointless short term sentences in a report that received widespread coverage yesterday http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10362751.stm . Community supervision is cheaper than custody by a huge factor and offers the opportunity of positive intervention and change in behaviour. Such a shift would help ease the burden on overcrowded prisons and, in particular, hard working prison staff. We hear rumours that police stations are on stand by for an increase in cell detention as prisons reach full capacity this summer.

Of course, these proposals require a properly resourced and fully staffed Probation Service. The precise financial implications of the cuts for individual government departments will not be clear until after the Comprehensive Spending Review is completed in October. But we have come up with an approach that could save a lot of money, keep staff doing the job they have been trained for, and have a positive outcome for those we work with and the communities we serve.

There was a distinct contrast in messages being received from members of the coalition government at meetings I attended last week.

At a TUC meeting with public service union leaders Francis Maude, the Cabinet Secretary http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.u...ers/francis-maude.aspx , positively welcomed close union engagement in discussing the financial crisis and its consequences for public services. He was left in no doubt about the strength of feeling of the trade unions about the potential impact of draconian cuts on jobs and services.

A rather different message about communication is emerging from the MoJ in relation to ministerial contact. It's nearly four weeks since I wrote to the Secretary of State and Minister of State seeking discussions and, to date, I have not even received an acknowledgement. But we hear from officials that the Minister envisages meeting the unions on an all NOMS basis ie a meeting that would involve representatives from about 10 unions! Hare brained of course, it smacks of a conspiracy by senior civil servants desperate to stop the unions telling ministers the realities of life for staff in NOMS.

We will find a way to get over this hurdle I'm sure. On a more positive note I attended the excellent AGM of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch last Friday. One member picked up my reference to the coalition suggesting that it should be known as 'damn con'! I fear we are still to find out just how much of a con it will be.

Back from a short break on the day Michael Spurr formally becomes CEO of NOMS. This was announced with confirmation of the rumour that his old job is to be scrapped with two existing DOMS taking lead roles in relation to prisons and probation.

So the CEO and DOM with lead responsibility for prisons come from a prisons background whilst the DOM with the lead for probation comes from.... British Telecom! This is no reflection on the individual concerned, who has worked positively with Napo in Wales, but it is consistent with our repeated concerns about the lack of a significant probation presence in the senior echelons of NOMS.

Whilst we continue to be ignored we will continue to make this point.

Following Monday's announcement by the Government about departmental cuts I issued the attached circular to probation branches and the family court section.

Realistically, we remain unclear about the direct implications of these cuts for the Probation Service and Cafcass as detailed spending decisions are still being taken. However, it is pretty clear that the proposals to cut back on expenses and recruitment freezes across the civil service and public sector are highly unlikely to deliver the 'savings' being discussed by the ConDems.

Napo is ready to respond locally and nationally. Cutting jobs and standards in Probation and Cafcass would be counter productive as costs would only increase disproportionately in other parts of the system such as prisons - an argument Jack Straw came to understand when he was in office. As I have said many times on this blog we will fight to protect jobs and maintain the professional standards integral to effective criminal and family justice systems.

Edited: 26/05/2010 at 01:05 PM by jonathanledger

Revolution is in the air at the Ministry of Justice but it is far from inspirational. The Coalition's policy programme has a short section on Justice which you can find here http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_...alasset/dg_187876.pdf

The first bullet point under this heading states the following:

'We will introduce a 'rehabilitation revolution' that will pay independent providers to reduce reoffending, paid for by the savings this new approach will generate within the criminal justice system.'

This sounds like an old and frankly reactionary rehash of the privatisation agenda regrettably indulged by the Labour Government. There is a chicken and egg element to this commitment as savings are predicted to follow implementing the approach which doesn't explain what will happen in the meantime.

Who knows and, I might suggest, who cares? There is an agency in place with skilled staff at all levels able to deliver this 'revolution' if it is properly supported and resourced. And it is fully accountable to the communities it serves. Napo is ready to ensure that the fight for the future of the Probation Service is truly revolutionary.

I joined a delegation that went to the Colombian embassy earlier this week to make representations to the ambassador about the case of Dr Miguel Angel Beltran Villegas.

Dr Beltran is a Colombian academic extradited from Mexico last year to face charges of rebellion and criminal conspiracy. You can read more about the background to this case on the Justice for Colombia website http://www.justiceforcolombia....tionFCPPC_MiguelA.php

The trumped up charges don't add up and, ahead of any trial, the Colombian President has publicly denounced Dr Beltran as a dangerous terrorist. The ambassador was reasonableness itself but couldn't answer many of our questions about the case and the absence of due process.

Please use the site's link to send the ambassador your message of concern. It could help save a life in a troubled and oppressed country.

So we find ourselves living in a ConDem nation (apologies to all who have come up with their own versions of this gag) and Probation falls under the rule - for a second time - of Ken Clarke. Cafcass is now in a department that has removed all reference to children and families, hardly the most inclusive of messages http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_...tion_2010/8675705.stm

The speculation about the size and targets of the cuts has begun and we are already hearing worrying rumours about the threat to probation budgets. Prior to the election the Lib Dems had supported Labour's position that the economy's recovery would be stalled if major cuts were implemented this year. The bed thay have made in pursuit of power may become very uncomfortable much sooner than they might have expected.

Napo's NEC and Officers and Officials have met this week. Plans for our campaign of opposition to any cuts that threaten jobs and the effectiveness of probation and family court practice are well under way. We have to come to terms quickly with the very different political climate that we now inhabit.

So the election has left us no clearer, for the moment, about the nature of the government that will be in power.

Expressing a personal view, I did not sit down to watch the results with great expectations so there was some consolation in a few of the results. It was good to see John McDonnell retain his seat and my MP successfully saw off a Tory challenge in Hammersmith.

But most satisfying of all was the result in Barking and Dagenham with the BNP pushed into a poor third. The effectiveness of the campaign against the far right was reinforced by the following day's council results which saw the BNP lose all its seats on the Barking and Dagenham council http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_...0/england/8668885.stm

That made it worth staying up till 6am! And it is reminder that we can make a difference if we work collectively against those who threaten our democracy and the progressive values we hold dear.

Spent a good bit of the weekend in the company or, more accurately, proximity of Billy Bragg. On Saturday I went to the Wellcome Collection to see Pressure Drop, a play about white working class alienation and the pervasive influence of the far right http://www.wellcomecollection.org/ Billy provided the live music that accompanied the performance. It was a powerful evening and the storyline resonates strongly just ahead of the election.

Bank Holiday Monday found many of us in Barking and Dagenham leafletting on behalf of Hope Not Hate in the constituency where Nick Griffin is standing. Notwithstanding a sudden hail storm it was a positive day. Billy Bragg turned up in support and we also got a pep talk from Eddie Izzard.

Worth reading HNH's Nick Lowles' excellent blog for an insight into the work that has been going on fighting the far right http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/?page=home.



Edited: 08/05/2010 at 12:07 PM by jonathanledger

Ann Widdecombe launched a bizzarre and offensive attack on probation staff this week in the Daily Express (nuff said). I can't give you a link as it isn't online but she suggested that staff should be out painting walls on unpaid work projects to demonstrate that they are of some use. All this after complaining about practical jokes at the Pope's expense!

I have written a response but don't anticipate it being published. Having a bit of trouble downloading today so it follows in full below.

'Dear Editor,

Ann Widdecombe ('Probation bangs its head against a wall of shame', 28th April)
displays breathtaking ignorance of the work of probation staff for someone who was
once a criminal justice minister.

Every day probation staff protect the communities they serve as they work tirelessly
with some of the most vulnerable, damaged and dangerous people in our society. As
often as not they are only noticed on the very rare occasions when something goes
wrong. It's the very fact that they are effectively invisible that demonstrates how
successful and important their work is in changing lives and protecting the public.

Ms Widdecombe would do better to pick up a paint brush herself in recompense and
reflect on the offence caused by her baseless and unpleasant comments.'

The term 'bigot' has been the cause of some political embarassment this week but if Gordon had focussed his ire on this particular individual I doubt the storm would have been much more than a light shower!

Napo (and Unison) members in the Probation Service overwhelmingly voted in favour of accepting this year's pay offer. Hopefully staff should be paid in the next month or so.

None of us expected an easy year in terms of pay. Members have made a pragmatic decision to settle ahead of the election thus avoiding the uncertainty of the future impacting on pay aspirations. I can't honestly say that it is going to get any easier in pay negotiations over the next few years but we have drawn an important line in the sand in relation to performance related pay and kept equal pay concerns high on the negotiating agenda.

Back from the Easter break spent in sunny Andalucia with a puzzling visit to Gibraltar thrown in. It may be just me (and I don't wish to offend) but its 'Britishness' felt like it is based on a copy of the Radio Times dating back to the 1950s!

Anyway, in my absence the election was called and we are now in the midst of the usual tit for tat arguments more irritating than illuminating as often as not. But we have to set aside any cynicism to get to the heart of the issues at stake. It would be nice to see a sensible debate about criminal justice and any debate at all about the family courts but I suspect that neither is that likely ">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_...ol3=libdem.

The opening salvos in the war over public services have been fired and I fear that public sector workers will be the main casualties. In all the talk about cuts and efficiencies I hope we hear some voices recognising the vital work performed by staff in justice, education, health and local government. And that we under resource, dismantle or privatise these services at our peril.