Napo, the largest trade union representing Probation staff
in England and Wales, today gave a massive welcome to the Lord
Chancellors announcement that all Probation services are to be
restored to public ownership and control.
The decision follows last year’s reversal of Government
policy which determined that 80% of probation work would transfer
to the National Probation Service by June 2021. It also signals
the final termination date (25 June 2021) for the existing
Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts which came into
effect in 2015 and were originally expected to last for up to 10
years.
Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said: “Our members
across the whole of Probation, and especially those who have been
working tirelessly against the odds to maintain services in the
private sector, will breathe a huge sigh of relief that Napo’s
relentless campaigning has at last helped to bring certainty over
the future of the service. Ministers have taken a courageous
decision to fully reverse the earlier reforms that we opposed
from the start and which have also been widely and continuously
criticised by Parliament and HM Inspector of Probation. We will
now be urgently engaging with Ministers and employers to ensure
that all staff currently working in a CRC are guaranteed a future
offer of employment in a publicly owned Probation
service.”
The new plans will see the National Probation Service take
full responsibility for Sentence Management, Interventions and
Programme delivery with Third Sector providers being commissioned
to offer additional support services for Probation clients. This
broadly mirrors the arrangements that existed prior to the
Transforming Rehabilitation reforms several years ago.
Napo National Chair Katie Lomas said: “The change in policy
is welcome news. Now it is time to rebuild the Probation service
and Napo will be pushing the Minister to ensure that there are
adequate resources to do so. It is also vital that the third
sector are able to genuinely engage in order to provide
specialist local services that are critical to a Probation
service that responds to the needs of communities and
clients.
