August 1, 2004: Government Climbdown a "Victory for Common Sense" says Napo
The government has pulled back from an imminent move to a regionally based probation service, following wide resistance to from probation union Napo and many probation boards. They consistently opposed the moves to radically restructure the Probation Service by splitting it into two parts, offender management and interventions, in order to create an artificial purchaser/provider split. These proposals involved dismantling the current Service based on 42 Probation Areas, and transferring the management of the offender management part of the Service to ten Regional Boards and moving the interventions work to a new national employer.
Judy McKnight, Napo General Secretary, welcomed a “victory for common sense” which showed that the Government had learned from the near unanimous opposition to the original restructuring plans for the Probation. She commented:
"Napo has consistently supported the need for strategies that reduce prison numbers and reduce reoffending. The wholesale reorganisation of the Probation Service in order to expose it to the threat of privatisation, was never the way to achieve that vision."
“Napo believes that the continuation of an integrated Probation Service, working in partnership with local communities, properly resourced, and free from the threat of privatisation, should be the lynch pin for the future delivery of an effective community focused justice system.">
Martin Narey, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service said:
“I concluded, and Ministers agreed, that designing a new organisation at this pace could severely impact on performance in the Probation Service.”
He also noted that the current interim model did not signal a change of direction and that he plans to push ahead with ‘contestability’ – seen be some to effectively mean a degree of privatization of probation. In Narey’s own words, “we can consider giving the private and not-for-profit sector an opportunity, working for the Probation Board, to take over all the functions of a probation area”.
However, his statement did not rule out the threat of further restructuring in future.