Justice Week 8-12 December 2008

October 19, 2006

The Bill is back - Stop the Bill!

Stop the Bill campaign launched

We now know that the NOMS Bill WILL be in the Queen’s Speech on 15 November. Napo also understands that the Bill itself will be published on 23 November.

If this Bill is agreed by Parliament, then probation work, particularly interventions, including unpaid work and many accredited programmes, will immediately be the subject of competition with voluntary and private sector providers.

The Government have now also stated that not all Probation Boards would become public Probation Trusts. Probation Boards which were deemed to be “under performing” would either be contracted out or subject to contestability.

It is therefore clear that if this legislation is agreed, the concept of the Probation Service as a national public service and as a profession would cease to exist.

Over the coming weeks Napo will be working with the Justice Unions Parliamentary Group and lobbying MPs to secure amendments and to force a vote on key clauses.

The structure of the clauses in the Bill will not be known until it is published, and branches will be informed immediately, but it is essential that we start lobbying MPs nationally, and particularly locally NOW.

LOCAL LOBBYING

A National lobby of parliament is planned for 29 November(more details to follow) but key to the success of our campaign will be local lobbying by Napo members of their own MPs in their constituencies.

We are therefore asking all members to contact their MPs and to arrange to lobby them locally in their surgeries on either Friday/Saturday 17/18 or 24/25 November.

Briefing material and model letters will be sent out via branches and made available on the website over the coming weeks. Members will also be sent a series of Stop the Bill bulletins via branches. Download bulletin No1 here.

But essentially the campaign starts now!