Napo HQ Blog

Napo briefed parliamentarians in the Justice Unions Group (JUFCPG) on the recent collapse of Working Links. Napo told politicians Working Links had been running Devon Dorset and Cornwall CRC, Bristol, Gloucester, Somerset and Wiltshire CRC and the Wales CRC since 2014, and their struggles to meet contract expectations were well documented.

MPs were also told that the union had raised mounting concerns about service delivery and financial sustainability with the Justice Committee, HMPPS Officials and Ministers at every opportunity. Despite this, calls to bring the three CRCs back into public ownership were ignored by the MoJ. In doing so, the MoJ has neglected its duty to provide adequate probation services, protect the public and ensure rehabilitation of clients. Worse still, beyond the transfer order that was signed last week, the Ministry have also neglected the staff that work in the CRCs by offering them nothing in the way of assurances in terms of job security going forward. 

Seetec, who currently run Kent, Surrey Sussex CRC took control of the areas previously run by Working Links under a rescue package. Parliamentarians were told that while this may offer short-term stability, we are concerned that there are potential job cuts ahead as a result of this process, particularly among corporate staff.

The JUFCPG was asked write to the Secretary of State on this issue, the detail behind the collapse of Working Links and the feasibility of the continued marketization of probation as a whole.

READ THE FULL BRIEFING HERE

With the current contracts due to end in 2020, Napo maintained that the Government should have taken control of the failing CRCs.

For years, Napo members have known what a catastrophe Chris Grayling is. Dubbed "Failing Grayling", the Tory secretary of state seems to have the reverse Midas Touch with an uncanny ability to corrode everything he gets his hands on. The probation service was left in pieces after his stint as justice secretary, and now he has his mitts on transport, we wait in trepidation for the wheels to come off in similar fashion.

A Labour report has estimated that his antics have cost the British taxpayer £2.7bn. Despite this, his position in government remains secure. Napo members and many more across the country have been asking for as long as we can remember: how is this even possible?

It seems the New York Times may have the answer. In a piece published on Sunday, How Does He Survive? The Curious Case of ‘Failing Grayling’,  the StateSide newspaper speculates the answer may be as simple as Brexit.

“He is a rare breed of Conservative politician, one who is both a loyalist of Prime Minister Theresa May and a strongly pro-Brexit campaigner, but without the ideological baggage of the far right. Until Brexit happens, the combination makes him virtually impossible to fire,” writes journalist Benjamin Mueller.

Read the article in full here

Good news just in. HMPPS has exceptionally agreed to provide one day’s facility time for members from each Division to attend The Women in Napo Conference on Friday 5th April. Employee relations have written to Divisional Directors asking them to also look favourably on requests for annual leave/time off in lieu to travel on the 4th if requested, and also on enabling their attendance at Conference.

If you are interested in attending this year's WiN Conference CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Today, 1^st March 2019, the National Audit Office has published it report into Transforming Rehabilitation. Napo was aware of the reports contents earlier this week and has released a press release CLICK HERE TO READ setting out our response.

The report is extremely damming of the “reforms” and urges the Minister to pause his plans to retender probation and to reflect on the issues and concerns highlighted in the report. Napo will be calling on the Minister to meet with us and to discuss the future of Probation beyond 2020.

Click here for the NAO Press Release

Click here for the FULL REPORT

The Office of National Statistics published figures yesterday that show, not surprisingly, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

TUC's general secretary, Frances O'Grady, said it's time the government did something about it.

In a press release published on the TUC website Frances said: “If the economy was working well, low-income households would be catching up with those at the top. But the gulf between rich and poor is widening. 

“We need to redesign the economy to make it work for everyone. The government can do more by reversing cuts to family support and raising the minimum wage to £10.”

NPS North West got a thumbs up from the probation inspectorate who said the division had "a clear vision and strategy for high-quality services" but warned there was not enough staff to deliver them.

Dame Glenys said: “The division is delivering a good overall standard of service, despite being under strain, and I hope that our findings and recommendations help the division to improve further. We note that staff shortages and poor facilities have featured in each of our recent NPS inspections, and our recommendations also reflect these wider concerns.”

Read the report in full

Probation staff are being scapegoated for mistakes caused by Grayling's failed privatisation experiment Napo's GS told Byline magazine.

In his interview with Hardeep Mathura, Ian revealed the union’s caseload of probation officers involved in disciplinary actions or required to provide evidence at inquests following SFOs has increased markedly over the past two to three years.

An anonymous probation officer involved in an SFO told the Byline: “I will never get over the trauma of what happened as a result of the SFO. I will live with that for the rest of my life. But, now the NPS is doubly traumatising me by threatening me with my job, profession and livelihood. No one asked to work in this failed system. The NPS is not fit for purpose but we are the ones carrying the can for it.”

Read the article in full

On Monday 18th, Justice Secretary, David Gauke, gave a speech setting out his vision for a "smart" justice system - which he said would reduce reoffending, protect the public and ensure serious criminals receive the punishment they deserve.

On sentencing the Minister said that the high rate of reoffending for those on sentences of less than 6 months showed that for them and wider society “prison simply isn’t working”.

There was, he said, “a very strong case to abolish sentences of 6 months or less altogether, with some closely defined exceptions, and put in their place, a robust community order regime”.

Among the problems with short sentences he cited were disruption to the lives of families when women went into custody and – for women and men – the loss of access to benefits and drug or alcohol support services and treatment.

Offenders were less likely to reoffend if they are given a community order, he said, because these orders were “much more effective at tackling the root causes behind criminality”.

Following the speech, Napo General Secretary, Ian Lawrence questioned the Minister about how he thought the abolition of short term sentences could be effective in a fragmented service., and what his plans were to reunify probation.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE IN FULL