BR 52/2007

JMcK/JH

12 November 2007

To: Branch Chairs and Secretaries
CAFCASS Co-Convenors (for information)

Dear Colleague

BUDGETARY CUTS TO THE PROBATION SERVICE

Please see attached letter sent to David Hanson, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, setting out Napo’s concerns regarding the consequences of the budgetary cuts to the Probation Service.

We are seeking a response prior to the NEC on 29th November.

Yours sincerely

JUDY McKNIGHT

General Secretary

JMcK/JH/07-186

06 November 2007

David Hanson MP
Minister of State
Selborne House
54 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW

Dear David

Budgetary Cuts to the Probation Service

I am writing to ask you to give urgent consideration to the implications of imposing a flat cash settlement on the Probation Service for the next three years and to ask you for some specific assurances that arise for Napo members and the Probation Service, as a result of the proposed financial settlement.

I also wish to bring to your attention the terms of an emergency motion which was carried by an overwhelming majority at Napo’s recent Annual General Meeting:

“In order to resist the untenable cuts in Probation Service budgets as announced on 9th October this AGM instructs Napo’s Officers to liaise with branches and the NEC on the development of a campaign of action, including industrial action if necessary.

In the first instance AGM instructs the Officers to seek immediate assurances from Ministers:
 that the Service will receive the necessary funding for its work;
 that additional funding will be found for any new work introduced;
 that there will be an immediate end to the sub-contracting of probation work;
 that there will be no compulsory redundancies;
 that there will be immediate action to safeguard the workloads of probation staff;
 that the necessary funding will be found for the development of the new probation qualification;
 that adequate funding will be found to ensure that the Service meets its obligations under equalities legislation, including ensuring that all Information Technology systems are Assistive Technology compliant;
 that adequate funding is found to ensure that a fair pay settlement of probation staff can be negotiated in each of the next three years.

The Officers are asked to report back to the November NEC on Ministers’ response to the assurances sought with a view to considering how the campaign of action should be taken forward.”

Impact of Budgetary Settlement

Can I firstly ask you to consider exactly what a flat cash settlement will mean for the Probation Service for the next three years, and ask you to examine the implications of such a budget for reducing re-offending, for protecting the public, and for Government policies designed to promote community sentences?

We are already receiving reports that many Probation Areas have identified that the proposed settlement requires them to make cuts in expenditure of 15 to 20% over the three year period. Since approximately 80% of Area budgets are staffing costs and since most other costs, such as estates and IT, are run from the centre with Areas being billed accordingly, Areas are looking to make significant cuts in staffing numbers. A number of Areas have already informed their staff and trade union branches that redundancies may be necessary.

Ministry of Justice Ministers when questioned about these cuts have referred to the fact that the Probation Service budget has increased by 70 % since 1997; the implication being that we have received generous budgets in the past and should now be able to make some savings without too much hardship to the level and quality of the service provided.

Can I please ask you to examine these figures in greater detail?

While it is clearly correct to say that overall the Probation Service budget has increased since 1997 it also the case that overall less resources are now available for Areas to spend on case management and case supervision, and on the production of reports and the provision of services to courts.

The increased spend since 1997 has not only been more than matched by the increase in workloads, but can be accounted for by increased expenditure in areas such as:

• Electronic monitoring
• IT
• Estates
• Approved Premises
• NPD/NOMS central management
• Local Management
• Public protection
• Enforcement and national standards
• Accredited Programmes
• DTTOs
• MAPPA
• Basic Skills
• Victims
• OASys
• Probation Officer Training.

Even before the announcement of the budget settlement for 2008-2010, as many as 74 trainee probation officers qualifying this autumn have been told that the budgetary constraints mean that they cannot be employed as Probation Officers.

The October 2007 HMIP Report on Offender Management in Sussex notes that:

“It was of serious concern that Sussex Probation Area was unable to employ all trainee probation officers upon qualification - a problem mirrored in a number of areas due to budgetary constraints.”

The report goes on the recommend “that the National Offender Management Service gives urgent attention to the problems faced by probation areas unable to recruit their newly-qualified trainee probation officers because of budgetary constraints.”

In earlier correspondence between us on the current shortfall of PO jobs available to TPOs, you referred to the problems in terms of workforce planning. It is Napo’s view that the this issue is far more substantive; it is indicative of the current deeper budgetary crisis facing the Service, a crisis for which there will be a long term cost as most of these TPOs, each of whom cost £70,000 to train, will now be permanently lost to the Service.

The TPO problem is just one example of the budgetary crisis already facing the Service. As set out above, I would request that you examine in greater detail the full implications for the Service of the imposition of a flat cash settlement for the next three years.

Assurances sought

The AGM motion as set out above lists a set of assurances that we are seeking from you, as a matter of urgency.

That the Service will receive the necessary funding for its work. We trust that you can give us this basic assurance.

That additional funding will be found for any new work introduced. VISOR is just one example of new work due to be introduced, and an example of work which will require new and additional funding.

That there will be an immediate end to the sub-contracting of probation work. When Probation Areas will be considering basic core work and probation jobs to be cut, the imposition of arbitrary targets for the sub-contracting out of work cannot be justified.

That there will be no compulsory redundancies. We ask for an assurance that any cuts made will not involve compulsory redundancies.

That there will be immediate action to safeguard the workloads of probation staff. A budgetary settlement means urgent decisions being taken, not just on priorities but on what work the Probation Service can no longer be expected to do. Such decisions should necessarily be made at a ministerial level. In the absence of clear progress on workload prioritisation and workload management, Napo members have instructed Napo to draw up plans for industrial action.

That the necessary funding will be found for the development of the new probation qualification. The new training qualification for the Probation Service will determine the long term future of the professional base of the Service. We would welcome your assurance that the current budgetary crisis will not impact on the long term development of this vital qualification.

That adequate funding will be found to ensure that the Service meets its obligations under equalities legislation, including ensuring that all Information Technology systems are Assistive Technology compliant. We trust that this assurance is forthcoming and that you accept that if more resources need to be found, for example to ensure that VISOR is made to be AT compliant, then those resources will be found.

That adequate funding is found to ensure that a fair pay settlement of probation staff can be negotiated in each of the next three years. Napo will soon be entering negotiations for the pay settlement due from April 2008. For next year, and for the following years up to and including 2010, we seek an assurance that collective bargaining will be able to take place to ensure a fair pay settlement.

Conclusion

Napo’s NEC will be meeting on 29 November and I would be grateful to have a response to this letter, and the assurances sought, before that meeting.

Branch Circular on Lobby

BR53-07
JMcK/KF

To Branch Chairs and Secretaries

12th November 2007

Dear Colleague

FIGHT THE CUTS – DEFEND PROBATION
Lobby of Parliament Wednesday 12 December 2007

Further to the 7 November mailing to branches with my letter to Probation Minister David Hanson, the Officers have agreed initial campaigning activities to “Fight the Cuts and Defend Probation.”

The terms of the AGM motion on cuts is reproduced overleaf and over the coming months Napo will be campaigning on three fronts – in parliament, in the press and, if necessary, with industrial action.

As a first step we are organising a rally in Committee Room 14 of the House of Commons on Wednesday 12 December 2007.

Please circulate the attached leaflet to all members.

Ideally, each branch should send a number of representatives to the rally, and Napo nationally will consider paying for the travel costs in cases of branch hardship. Instructions will follow on writing to a minimum of 2 or 3 MPs local to your branch, inviting them to come to the meeting and to discuss the consequences of the cuts with members of the branch.

Details of the logistics and briefing material will be sent out by Harry Fletcher in the coming days. (If you have any queries contact Harry).

On the assumption that the cuts are not reversed, Napo will also need to consider organising a major rally and lobby of parliament probably in the spring of 2008. This will be a mass mobilisation. We will also be developing a campaign of industrial action over the coming period should it be necessary.

The cuts as planned threaten to lead to compulsory as well as voluntary redundancies, threaten to increase already excessive workloads, threaten pay, terms and conditions and threaten training.

Please let Kath Falcon know how many representatives you think your branch can get to the event (kfalcon@napo.org.uk).

Judy McKnight
General Secretary

AGM Resolution on Probation Cuts

“In order to resist the untenable cuts in Probation Service budgets as announced on 9th October this AGM instructs Napo’s Officers to liaise with branches and the NEC on the development of a campaign of action, including industrial action if necessary.

In the first instance AGM instructs the Officers to seek immediate assurances from Ministers:
 that the Service will receive the necessary funding for its work;
 that additional funding will be found for any new work introduced;
 that there will be an immediate end to the sub-contracting of probation work;
 that there will be no compulsory redundancies;
 that there will be immediate action to safeguard the workloads of probation staff;
 that the necessary funding will be found for the development of the new probation qualification;
 that adequate funding will be found to ensure that the Service meets its obligations under equalities legislation, including ensuring that all Information Technology systems are Assistive Technology compliant;
 that adequate funding is found to ensure that a fair pay settlement of probation staff can be negotiated in each of the next three years.

The Officers are asked to report back to the November NEC on Ministers’ response to the assurances sought with a view to considering how the campaign of action should be taken forward.”