Napo, the largest trade union representing Probation staff in England and Wales, today demanded that the Government must bring all rehabilitation services back into public ownership.
The call follows a report by the Public Accounts Committee that makes a series of highly damning conclusions about the state of probation following the Transforming Rehabilitation restructuring implemented by former Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, in 2015.
Napo General Secretary Ian Lawrence said: “This report provides yet more incontrovertible evidence that the Probation reforms have been an abject disaster. The breakdown of effective service provision can be directly attributed to a combination of political hubris and the involvement of private providers who had no prior experience of probation and whose incompetence has been laid bare”.
The PAC report, alongside previous findings by the Justice Select Committee inquiry into TR and a series of reports by the Chief Inspector for Probation, is highly critical of the state of operations and the poor value for money that the reforms have provided to the taxpayer.
Ian Lawrence added: “Only the complete return of Probation work into public ownership and control can fix this mess, and it’s now time for the Secretary of State to make the necessary decision to do just that.”
ENDS