Apologises to members who tried to link into the Court Network on Thursday 28 November 2024. Due to a technical error members were unable to join. Encouraging to see we have 52 members so please continue to advise members to join.
However, here are the updates:
In-House Contested Breaches.
There is still a pause till January 2025. A dispute letter has been drafted and once agreed with our sister unions we will be registering the dispute with the Employer.
Timings on reports and Gatekeeping Form.
Raised again at the Central Court Team (CCT) meeting this is still with the Work Force Sub-Committee and we are waiting for the new timings. It was discussed that the timings should not be used as productivity tool as some reports can take longer than others, and any complex reports should be discussed with your SPO.
Bail Information Service.
The panel has sat and we are challenging some of the terms and conditions. That should not affect front line staff and them taking on this work. We will need to keep an eye on how regions decide to deliver this as each area will work differently. If this becomes problematic please talk to your local Branch Chair so they can raise this at the JCC meetings.
Saturday Court Cover o/time rates.
Raised at CCT meeting. National guidance will be issued once this has been reviewed and consulted with the Unions.
SARA training for PSO’s.
Raised at CCT meeting. At this point, the document has been removed from Equip; we are currently waiting for the final version of the PSO PO PSR Allocation Guidance to be finalised before completing this, as we need to ensure these two documents align.
PoP’s being sentenced without a report (D/V)
Raised at CCT meeting. This is the response that was received:
Case Allocation guidance says: Previously there has been a requirement for court teams to provide definitive risk level assessments where allocation has been made, based upon an indicative risk level only. As indicated above, it is accepted that for cases being allocated by court teams where no PSR has been undertaken the assessment of risk can only be indicative. This does not apply in instances where a PSR has been completed, as here an OASys assessment should be completed. Thus, there will now no longer be the expectation that court teams provide a definitive risk level post-allocation and instead the presumption will be for the allocated supervising practitioner / Prison Offender Manager to fully review the case and determine the risk level post sentence.
All Court Network Meetings email link will be found in your Napo Mailings. Next meeting is 09 January 2025 at 1pm for an hour.