COURT CLOSURES BRINGS UNCERTAINTY FOR NPS STAFF

Napo will soon be engaging in discussions about the impact of the recent announcements by Ministers and HMCTS of a large number of Court closures.

 

I understand that 300 staff are likely to be affected by the cuts to the HMCTS Estate which was published just over a week ago. Details of the programme appear below together with a letter that NOMS have sent out to Court based staff.

 

I will issue an update for members following the first meeting with NOMS just as soon as I can. 

 

Potential Court & Tribunal Closure Dates – by region

 

These are the dates that have been published to give an indication of when courts will cease to provide a public-facing service. 

The dates correspond to the court closure ‘tranches’ in the ‘Illustrative Timeline for Staff Consultation’.

Please note that this timetable is subject to change as the programme progresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Court Estate Announcement 

 

Dear Colleague,

 

You may be aware that an announcement was made earlier today to Parliament about the closure of some court and tribunal buildings in England and Wales.

I wanted to write to you at the earliest possible point to outline how this will impact upon National Probation staff based at the affected court buildings.

The cases being heard in a court that is closing will be redirected to an alternative court, referred to as a ‘receiving’ court. We will want to ensure that the NPS is able to support the increased volume of cases going through those receiving courts. This is likely to mean that we will ask NPS staff who directly support the operation of the court to move to the designated receiving court. 

For those NPS staff who are not directly involved in the operation of the court we will be looking at suitable alternative space in other buildings in the NPS estate to minimise distance to be travelled.

The court closures are expected to take place in six phases, starting this month and ending in September 2017. I have attached a schedule provided by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) which provides an indication about when the court closures are currently expected to take place.  This schedule is indicative and is subject to change. 

In most cases I expect that movements of NPS staff will take place in line with those of HMCTS staff but we have made clear that our staff will only move when we have had the opportunity to work through with the individuals affected the implications of those moves. 

I know that many of you will have been working effectively alongside HMCTS colleagues at your court for many years. While you are likely to have anticipated changes following the consultation about the courts estate in 2015, I appreciate the uncertainty and concern that today’s announcement may cause.

I can assure you that where staff are required to move, those changes will be conducted in line with the agreed policies. Today’s announcement has no impact on the number of staff required by the NPS to deliver our service to the courts. In line with the commitment made under E3, this announcement will not result in any job losses within the NPS.

I appreciate there are still a lot of unanswered questions and details that need to be worked through following today’s announcement. I realise that we are not able to provide specific information about how individuals will be affected. I realise that you will be keen to know more about what this means for you. To help answer those questions we have organised a conference call to be held Friday at 10am. We will invite managers of court teams to attend that call to raise questions on behalf of their teams.

Further information will be provided to affected staff as soon as it is known.

In the meantime, NPS staff at affected courts will continue to operate in their roles as normal.

I’d like to thank you for your patience and understanding while we work with HMCTS to clarify how the changes announced today will be delivered.

Yours Sincerely

Jim Barton

 

 

Napo clearly  the union of choice in Probation 

 

News this week that over 400 NPS staff have become new members of Napo since the last AGM is encouraging as we start to step up our engagement strategy. Its vital that existing members make the simple switch to Direct Debit and here is the link to our online promotion which members may want to forward to any workplace colleagues who have yet to join a trade union.

 

https://youtu.be/65L43yKVUlk

 

My diary is filling up fast with dates where I will have an opportunity to meet directly with members and prospective members in South Yorkshire, Cumbria & Lancashire, Northumbria and Essex.

I have committed to do a workplace meeting in every Branch where I will be more than willing to try and address your concerns and answer questions about what Napo are trying to do on your behalf.  Ask your Branch reps to contact Annoesjka here at Chivalry Road to check my availability?

Back next week with a big list of other important issues to cover