Immediate release Thursday 8 March 2018
London CRC progress: Napo credits probation staff for improvement
Probation union Napo has credited staff working in London CRC for the “clear and at times impressive” improvements to the service highlighted in the HMI Probation report published today, but which says operational failings have impeded further success.
The report from Chief Inspector Dame Glenys Stacey noted a boost in staff morale and a reduction of workloads in some instances since the last inspection in 2016. However, the service that supervises nearly 30,000 clients in the capital has only reached national average standards, which the inspectorate still deems to be “unacceptably low”.
The report also criticised the CRC for its reliance on agency staff, the varying quality of public protection including child safeguarding, and said that rehabilitation was not sufficiently supported.
The inspectorate pointed to the CRC’s original decision to move away from working with external agencies, as having an impact on the quality of service provided.
Welcoming the move back to a more traditional operating model, Dame Glenys said: “Critical relationships with local strategic partners suffered under the CRC’s previous operating mode, but CRC leaders are taking the opportunity now to re-energise these essential networks.”
Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said: “Napo are obviously pleased to see that there has been some improvements to service delivery in the London CRC. Nevertheless it is a fact that this could not have been achieved without the efforts of hard pressed staff who are continuing to shore up a delivery model that, like so many others provided by the private companies, has been shown to be well short of the standards that the Government said would follow this disastrous privatisation project.”
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For more information contact Napo Headquarters on 0207 223 4887.