Solidarity with all affected by the tragedy in Beirut
Some members will have been directly affected by the explosion in Beirut this week which has wreaked havoc on residents of Beirut and Lebanon as a whole. Napo would like to express its solidarity and condolences to all those affected by the tragedy and hope that the City and people of Lebanon can recover from the devastation.
Advice for members who have been shielding or have additional vulnerabilities to Covid-19
Government guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID -19 officially changed on the 1 August 2020. Napo advises that members who have been shielding should continue to be vigilant and continue to work from home wherever possible. ‘Shielded workers’ are those with health conditions that make them more likely to experience serious complications from a Covid-19 infection, so they have needed to follow more stringent guidance on social isolation.
The government decision to pause the guidance on shielding in Napo’s view is premature. Therefore, Napo has been in consultation with the employers to make sure that any individual who was previously shielding is not forced to come back to the workplace and staff should continue to work from home if they are able to do so. If any member of staff is considering returning to the workplace or is asked to come back into the office, your employer must provide you with an individual risk assessment so that this can be undertaken in a Covid secure way.
Napo advice is that all staff who are deemed to be at heightened risk e.g. clinically extremely vulnerable, in the vulnerable group and/or from a BAME background should formally request an individual risk assessment be undertaken before returning to the workplace. If you encounter any difficulty from the employer providing this essential protection please contact Napo at info@napo.org.uk and we can assist you and make sure that your health and safety is protected.
HMP Stocken and Black Conscious Coventry Fundraiser
We have been contacted by Black Conscious Coventry who are working with a client in HMP Stocken to raise funds for a black history education programme in the prison. Read the full story and find out how you can get involved here https://www.napomagazine.org.uk/hmp-stocken-client-fundraises-for-black-...
Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) and Prison Exceptional Delivery Models (EDMs)
The OMiC implementation consultation has re-started following a pause due to the deployment of some project staff to frontline roles. The main focus of initial discussions has been the return to workplaces and the changes to EDMs for the prison OMUs. Napo health and safety reps in the local branch should be consulted on the OMU EDM and risk assessment as well as the EDM and risk assessment for any related functions that will involve Probation staff. Any members working in prisons should make sure EDMs and risk assessments have involved consultation with them and local health and safety reps and ask for a review if they haven’t.
The overarching advice remains the same for NPS staff working in prisons as for other workplaces, if you are able to work at home you should do so. There were examples as we moved into lockdown of some resistance to this in some prisons, if any members are experiencing difficulties in following this advice they should liaise with local reps to raise this first with the Head of Stakeholder Engagement and refer to Katie Lomas klomas@napo.org.uk for escalation if this is not successful.
At the same time as discussing the return to workplaces we have also continued to raise issues about the OMiC model, workloads, lack of admin support and issues with the prison SPO role. We will be getting a full report back on the issues raised at our next meeting with the OMiC team.
Court Recovery Consultation
Siobhan Foreman is Napo’s lead for Court work. She is now meeting regularly with the NPS Lead Director for Courts.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments should be in place for Courts, including the probation areas in the Court buildings. These should be live documents and can be reviewed at any time, especially with changes to circumstances or fresh concerns. Work is underway to determine maximum capacity for NPS staff returning to work in Courts.
Access to Court entrance and exit is varied and remains an ongoing issue for some NPS Court staff. We have been advised a working group has been set up to address this issue and discussions are ongoing between HMCTS (HM Court and Tribunal Service) & HMPPS. The barriers appear to be the unsuitability and footfall of some Court buildings, however, HMPPS are confident that the issue will be resolved over the coming months and 99% of NPS Court staff will have access to HMCTS staff entrance and exits.
Extended Working Hours/Recovery/ Court EDM
We are told that the HMCTS strategy regarding the backlog of cases will be launched very shortly.
There is a significant backlog of cases and nearly every case is estimated to take 25% longer than previously due to Covid-19.
HMCTS will adopt a 4-Pillar approach by;
1. Use of Nightingale Courts which can be set up in other suitable establishments, following appropriate risk assessments.
2. Extended operating hours/staggered operating hours with overtime available and weekend working. It has been confirmed this will be on a strictly voluntary basis and payments will be on NNC terms. There is an acknowledgment that there are not enough Court staff to meet the need and discussions are ongoing about how to address this issue. Full consultation with unions regarding this will take place prior to decisions being made.
3. Extend use of IT, for example Cloud Video Platform for PSR interviews, remand courts etc.
4. Maximise use of Court estate. There are some Courts which are not being used to their full capacity or have been closed and work is ongoing to look at the suitability of opening Court rooms.
If you are a Napo member either managing or working in Courts and have any queries or concerns you would like Siobhan to raise at these meeting please email sforeman@napo.org.uk