Napo HQ Blog

The overwhelming response from Napo members attending at the many Branch meetings I have had the pleasure of visiting, was to welcome the Government rethink on Probation but where they also raised two key questions.

The first being: ‘what will be the operative date for CRC Staff on which they will be deemed to be in scope for transfer along with their work to the NPS? The second: ‘will there be harmonisation of pay, terms and conditions for all staff across Probation before the end of the current CRC contracts?

In terms of the effective operational date, I expect to be able to issue some definitive news once we have concluded our engagement over the course of the next two weeks with senior HMPPS and MoJ leads. This is obviously a critical issue and the current uncertainty is not exactly being helped by some quite irresponsible speculation by a few CRC owners suggesting that they have some traction over when (and which) staff will be in scope. As current employers they have an obvious duty to inform staff of where they stand and impart relevant information, but beyond that we have made it clear to the MoJ that negotiations over the new staff transfer won’t include them.

Its time to join in common cause

If CRC owners, especially those with an eye on possible future contracts in Programmes and Interventions (should they ever emerge) want to do something useful, then they ought to join the campaign to harmonise the pay and terms and conditions of their staff to match those existing in the NPS as soon as possible.

For once it is established just how many of their staff are likely to be moving to the NPS, they will face a real problem motivating those who are scheduled to remain; and who may decide that applying for one of the hundreds of NPS vacancies or the option of moving to Agency status is a lot better than remaining with an employer that won’t exist in its present form beyond April 2021.

Let’s be clear, the task of repairing Probation from the disasters that Grayling visited upon it is  mammoth in size and detail. What we urgently need is a stabilised ‘whole system’ workforce where ‘would be’ future purchasers of new contracts will know exactly what they are bidding for in terms of the potential available workforce and how much it will cost them in pay and pension contributions.

Unless the motivation is there to retain a mix of skillsets across the whole of the service, (and that absolutely includes the numbers of staff that will be required to deliver Interventions and Programmes,) then by the time that CRC contracts come to an end there may be insufficient resources left to deliver anything.

As far as Napo is concerned this work is just as vital as Offender Management supervision and we don't intend to leave our members in the CRC’s behind on inferior pay terms and conditions.

Some weeks back I made an offer to CRC owners that Napo stands ready to work together with them to try and achieve this imperative for the good of their employees and the future of the service.

You know where to find us.

Wales

Meanwhile, our team of Napo Cymru reps and Link Official Tania Bassett are engaged in regular contact with the NPS and SEETEC management over the technicalities of the scheduled transfer of Offender Management work to NPS Wales by December.

We will be issuing more news to members about the progress here at the earliest opportunity.

Forums and Events would like to invite you to attend our upcoming Reducing Reoffending and Changing Public Perception CPD conference.

The speaker line-up includes:

• Gethin Jones, Inspiration Speaker, Trainer and Coach and Founder of Unlocking Potential
• Andrew Brierley, Child Looked After / Care Leaver Specialist, Youth Justice Service
• Dr Sarah Bromley, National Medical Director Health in Justice, Care
• UIan Bickers, Deputy Director, Head of Education, Employment and Industries Group, Directorate of Safety and Rehabilitation Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service
• Mike Trace, CEO at FORWARD TRUST
• Nina Champion, Director of Criminal Justice Alliance
• Dr Sunil Lad, Principal Counselling Psychologist at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• James Mapstone, Chief Executive Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice,
• Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer Clinks
• Christopher Stacey, Co-director Unlock, for people with convictions
• Dr Angela Herbert MBE, Chair of the Violent Crime Prevention Board, Chair of Brent Police Independent Advisory Group, Director of Inside Out Solutions

About the event:

This one-day conference will bring together leading authorities from the Probation Service, Police, Courts, Prisons, Local Authorities, service commissioners, healthcare organisations, housing, voluntary & private organisations working with offenders to discuss the latest best practice designed to reduce reoffending rates amongst adult and juvenile offenders. The conference also aims to address what can be done to change the public perception of ex-offenders. They are more than their past and with this event we would like to address the stigma they face when re-entering into society. The conference will look at practical methods, programmes and interventions that benefit people who are at high risk of offending or repeat offending, social exclusion and poor mental health. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of partnership working and the service user experience.

OUR KEY OBJECTIVES ARE:

• Improving outcomes for youth in the Juvenile Justice System
• Highlighting the importance of working collaboratively across all agencies in tackling the rising re-offending rates
• Highlighting the role of the police in diverting offenders from the criminal justice syst
• The value of adopting a restorative approach to reduce reoffending
• Discuss what can be done to change the predominately negative public opinion regarding offenders when they are released back into the community
• The role of stable accommodation and employment programmes in reducing re-offending 

Please register at: https://bit.ly/2MXa6Ue

The deadline for Motions and Constitutional Amendments for this year's AGM (11th & 12th October in the St David's Hall Cardiff) is very soon. They need to be with Napo HQ by 12 noon on Friday 16 August, so make sure you get them in on time.

Motions to be considered by the AGM may be submitted by the NEC, a national committee, a Probation branch, the Family Court Section, the Forum or any two full or professional associate members of Napo. Constitutional amendments may be submitted by the NEC, a Probation branch or the Family Court Section. 

Click here for the form to submit your motion or constitutional amendment.

When even the potential bidders for new contracts are concerned (as featured in a report by Danny Shaw to the Today Programme on 29^th July) about the viability it is ever more important to be clear about what would make a difference in the Probation System. Here are Napo’s four key demands for the future of Probation.

In re-designing Probation it is vital that lessons are learned from the profound failure of “Transforming Rehabilitation” (TR). Simply re-drawing the line between the public and private provision is not enough to repair all of the damage done.

Fully integrated service provision

In all of the varied criticisms of TR the split in service provision was universally acknowledged as a cause for poor service provision, increased bureaucracy, duplication of work and communication issues. We demand a fully integrated and unified service, with all core functions, including unpaid work and interventions, delivered from a single organisation in an integrated way. This doesn’t preclude the involvement of specialist provision by the third sector in a partnership arrangement but ensures that the management and delivery of core services is done in a joined up way.

In the public sector and never for profit but out of the civil service and released from prison

No one should profit from crime and so no one should profit from the delivery of Justice as a result of those crimes. The delivery of Probation Services belongs in the public sector however the move to the Civil Service as a result of TR has meant that the National Probation Service is now overly bureaucratic and follows a top down “command and control” culture. This means that the responsivity to local priorities that was once a key feature of Probation has been lost and innovation is reserved to those promoted to senior positions rather than open to all. Probation Officers are, as part of their training, encouraged to think critically about the work that they are doing and the systems in which they are doing it. This is almost impossible from within the Civil Service where criticism of the establishment is forbidden.

For many years Probation has struggled for recognition and focus against the forced partnership with the Prison Service. Although we recognise the advantages of working closely with our colleagues in the Prison Service we are not an adjunct to that service and while there are many areas where our work and ways of working, align there are also many areas where they do not. While the senior roles in HMPPS are predominantly held by those with a background in the Prison Service and while the second ‘P’ in HMPPS is generally silent it is difficult for the Probation Service to focus on developing its own culture and values.

Our demand is for Probation Services to exist outside of the Civil Service but in the public sector, as a non-departmental government body in the same way as organisations like CAFCASS and many others. This would allow for a degree of consistency through a national structure but would enable the development of culture and values that support Probation Practice.

Built on evidence based practice

There is a wealth of evidence about how to support people to desist from offending. Research into desistance and risk assessment and management is abundant. Little of this knowledge is being employed in redesigning Probation Services. Much of the pressure that staff leaving the service describe is about being asked to work in ways which they feel are not good practice at best or dangerous at worst. There is no sign of these lessons being learned. In addition there have been attempts to silence those who raise concerns about practice and the evidence of a need for change has been suppressed for example in the case of the report detailing concerns about SOTP in prisons.

At the same time as the feted reintegration of offender management work following TR the other big project is the Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) project. OMiC builds in multiple changes of Offender Manager despite the fact that such changes were criticised so much in the TR model that it caused a significant change of policy and move to the reintegration.    

All Probation Practice should be based on evidence and changes should be made to ways of working when indicated by research and evidence. Best practice should be modelled on this research and evidence, not the convenience of the organisation or the needs of a contract.

Rooted in the local community and partnering with local specialist providers

Probation is about people and people exist in communities. The link to the community is vital and must be prioritised. What works in one village, town or city might not work elsewhere. There must be a facility to respond to local needs and priorities and to shape service delivery to suit. Frontline practitioners must be empowered to work in a way that meets the needs of both their client and their community rather than to an agenda set centrally

There are many third sector providers working in response to local needs that might be excellent partners for Probation Services, either as a contractor or in other arrangements. Sadly many of these very local services were simply frozen out of the system due to TR but where they exist they should be involved in the delivery of services in an appropriate way. Large contracts are not the way to deliver such innovative and responsive partnerships as smaller third sector organisations cannot compete with large companies better able to offer cash guarantees and present artificially low bids. There should never be a separation between Probation Services and other services but working together in a joined up way is often impossible when there is no local control of the system.

We welcome comments or you can email us at editorial@napo.org.uk

This blog will be the start of a series of articles expanding on Napo's demands.

London, Saturday, 2 November 2019, 10:00am

SAVE THE DATE: Unions for Cuba Conference, 10am -5pm, Saturday 2 November 2019 at NEU Hamilton House, London, WC1H 9BD.

This major conference - the biggest solidarity with Cuba conference in 15 years - features an impressive high level line up of up to 20 Cuban general secretaries and leaders from the Cuban trade union movement plus leading British trade unionists; including Ismael Drullet, CTC Director of International Relations, Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary and Kevin Courtney, NEU Joint General Secretary and other labour movement leaders.

Unions for Cuba Conference is the largest Cuba60 event of 2019, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the 80th anniversary of the CTC (Cuba’s TUC), and will build solidarity further between British and Cuban workers.

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Napo Tackling Inequality in the Workplace course - Friday 13th September 2019 - London

This course is for all reps / members who want to learn more about equalities in the workplace.

The course will introduce the general concept of workplace equality issues and employment legislation.  Learners will be able to identify the nine legally protected characteristics and understand what legal protection exists in the workplace.  The course will also encourage learners to develop a trade union approach to handling equality issues in the workplace.  Learners will also be able to recognise key elements of an equality and diversity policy to ensure that employers get it right.

The course will introduce learners to the Napo equality networks and how to get involved.

To register for this one day course which will be held in London, please click here to access a registration form and send back to Shireena Suleman on ssuleman@napo.org.uk by Friday 23rd August at the latest

With the UK getting a new Prime Minister could mean only one thing. A cabinet reshuffle. David Gauke set out very clearly some weeks ago that he intended to resign if Boris Johnson won as he has very different views on Brexit. So with the announcement of Boris Johnson's success it means that we faced our 6th Justice Secretary in 6 years.

It was a welcome announcement then that Mr Johnson has decided to promote Robert Buckland from Prison and Probation Minister to Justice Secretary giving the justice sector some much needed continuity. Meanwhile, we hear that the new Prison and Probation Minister is Lucy Frazer, MP for South East Cambridgeshire. She is a barrister by profession and was previously Solicitor General for England and Wales.

Parliament has now broken up for the summer recess but Ian Lawrence, Napo General Secretary, will be seeking an audience with Robert Buckland and Lucy Frazer as soon as possible.

In the meant time we will continue to work with HMPPS and the NPS on the transition of Offender Management work into the NPS and campaign for 100% reunification.

Join supporters of the Colombian peace process in central London to show support for the peace process and in protest at the ongoing murders of social activists and FARC former guerrillas in Colombia.

Friday 26 July from 4pm 
Portland Place (Oxford Circus tube)

The event is organised by grassroots activists and organisations as part of an international day of solidarity with communities in Colombia.

Marches will also be taking place across Colombia and several other countries.

Colombia faces an escalating human rights crisis, with more than 700 social activists and FARC former guerrillas murdered since the peace agreement was signed in November 2016. The situation has been made worse by slow or non-implementation of many core areas of the agreement.

Here is the London march itinerary:

4pm march begins in Portland Place 
5pm march passes through Trafalgar Square
6-7pm march ends in Parliament Square with speakers and a rally for peace

If you are in London, please come along to show your support for human rights and peace in Colombia.

For more information, visit the Facebook event page. We hope to see you there!

The MoJ has opened a consultation on how the family courts protect children and parents in private law children cases concerning domestic abuse and other serious offences. This will look specifically at the application of Practice Direction 12J, Practice Direction 3AA, The Family Procedure Rules Part 3A, and s.91(14) orders, and will build a more detailed understanding of any harm caused to parents and/or children during or following private law children proceedings. The overarching aim of the call for evidence is to better understand how effectively the family courts respond to allegations of domestic abuse and other serious offences in private law children cases, having regard to both the process and outcomes for the parties and the children.

The MoJ says "The panel would like to hear from people who have direct experience as parties in private law children cases, as well as from those who provide support services to parents involved in such cases, and from professionals who practise such cases. The panel are particularly keen to receive evidence of any harm caused to children and/or parents during or following private law children proceedings, where there are allegations and/or evidence of domestic abuse or of other crimes creating a risk of harm to children or parents (such as child abuse, rape, sexual assault or murder)."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Survivors of domestic abuse and other harmful conduct are being invited to share their experiences of how well the family courts protects them and their children in private family law proceedings

The Government launched a call for evidence on 19th July. This is part of a three-month project overseen by a panel of experts, aimed at throwing a spotlight on how the family courts manage the safety and well-being of children when there is a risk of domestic abuse.

Responding directly to concerns raised recently including in the Government’s Domestic Abuse Consultation, the review will also consider the use of ‘barring orders’- court orders which can prevent abusive parents from making further court applications that often serve to simply re-traumatise their victims.

The Government says: "Crucially, it will also examine what the risk is to children and parents in continuing to have a relationship with a parent with a history of abusive behaviour, including where continuing contact between the parents is required by court orders."

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