20 October 2008
Llandudno, Wales, 17 October 2008
Justice Minister David Hanson has given a speech to probation staff at the Napo conference and annual general meeting.
Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (David Hanson MP):
I'd like to start by saying welcome to North Wales. My constituency is in North Wales so thank you for this opportunity to address your AGM today. Not only is it rare for me to be able to deliver a speech so close to home on a Friday afternoon but it also provides a very timely opportunity for me to acknowledge the considerable role of probation staff in delivering the government's aims of protecting the public and reducing reoffending.
The work undertaken by probation staff, for me, is central to these aims and I want to thank you and all your colleagues for the work you do day after day in difficult circumstances with great commitment, dedication and professionalism.
And I would also like to take a moment to thank Napo for the way it has constructively engaged with the government. We have had our differences - sometimes they may give me a kicking, sometimes it might be even be justified, but fundamentally we share set of values, a commitment to reducing reoffending, and a commitment to protecting the public and providing a high level of service to victims and the public. Above all, the relationship with Napo is one that I value and one that I think it is important to sustain.
Ultimately I have to make the decisions, I have to be accountable to Parliament, but I always value the view of Napo.
Whilst I have had the privilege to be Minister of State for Prisons and Probation, I have made a point of meeting with Napo officials on a regular basis. Meetings with Napo have always been productive- the discussion and engagement has always been frank – but professional and, as I said, constructive about improving the service.
Can I take this opportunity to thank Judy McKnight for her valuable contributions at these meetings and wish her well in her retirement.
I also want to note the contribution that has been played by Mike McClelland, your outgoing chair. I know Mike has a deep and real commitment to the provision of high quality probation services. and I wish you well in your future professionally as well as personally.
Most recently, I have met with Jonathan Ledger and I thank you for willingness to engage in this way, and I look forward to many more such discussions in future.
The importance of protecting the public, reducing reoffending and a positive commitment to professionalism cannot be overstated. You know this better than most because you are on the front line, turning lives around one at a time. I know this because the data I receive is indisputable.
The latest national reducing reoffending statistics, published in September, if you haven't seen them look for them and be proud of them, show that the frequency of adult reoffending has fallen by almost 23% between 2000 and 2006, whilst for juvenile reoffending there was a fall of almost 19% [between 2000 and 2006 for both]. The severity of reoffending also fell over the same period, by 11% and 8% for adults and youths respectively, over the same period. Effective community sentences linked with professional supervision does make a real difference in those figures in protecting the public and in reducing reoffending.
That's why I am particularly pleased that the government has been willing to invest extra resources in the Probation Service at a significant level and over a sustained period. This government has increased annual spending on probation by two thirds in real terms during the past decade. That's a huge increase, and of course it corresponds with a higher demand for the Probation Service, as well as higher public expectations in the criminal justice system as a whole.
But this money has been put to good use; in particular by raising the numbers of front line probation staff by 32% between 2001 and 2007. Our investment in probation has more than paid off.
And for that reason we are investing more. We have spent an extra £40 million in 2008 - a one-off investment to facilitate the use of community orders where appropriate rather than short prison sentences, and to improve offender compliance with community orders and licences and secure staff in post.
But that doesn't mean that there is no financial pressure on the service. As I am sure you are aware, we are facing a tough economic climate, and the government's duty to the taxpayer is to make public services as efficient as possible.
Accordingly, the government requires the Ministry of Justice to reduce its spending by over £1 billion by March 2011. I am working hard with senior managers from across the Ministry of Justice, including Phil Wheatley, to identify where efficiencies can be made.
As a department we have agreed to concentrate on streamlining the business, cutting out unnecessary overheads, trying to reduce burdens on front-line staff, stopping non-essential projects and removing any duplication of roles and responsibilities. Together, we are streamlining HQ at the centre and regional HQs to reduce costs.
Together, as I have said, we plan cut right back on our use of expensive consultants, temporary and contract staff, and improve our procurement processes so that we have more buying power to secure better deals. And together we must work hard to tighten our management overhead - which in probation has risen significantly in recent years. Probation needs good management and excellent leadership but we have to make sure that the costs of this are proportionate and not at the expense of front-line delivery.
Probation will have to play its part in improving efficiency and providing value for money for the tax payer, but I want to make clear that my intention is to reach the £1 billion savings target without undermining the front-line services.
There have been accusations in the press this week that savings requirements mean thousands of job losses in the prisons, probation, and court services. And let me be honest there will be fewer people working in the Ministry of Justice and its agencies by 2011.
Whilst we determine what is best value in probation, let me be clear that this does not simply mean who is cheapest, but there is a strong commitment from my perspective that quality of the work being delivered must be maintained and exceeded.
It is the staff on the front line who will are well placed to tell me and the management board how these savings can be achieved, which is why I value my discussions with Napo representatives. I want to know how we can tailor our services to focus relentlessly on the delivery of our core business, offender management. I want to know how we can support front-line professionals at a regional and local level so that they are free to operate effectively.
Once we have identified new ways of working, we will need strong leadership to make them work. Not just in probation, but also in public and private prisons and the other organisations involved in offender management and the delivery of justice.
This brings me to another subject which I know is of concern to you, the creation of NOMS [the National Offender Management Service]. In April of this year, we created the new delivery agency of NOMS, bringing together the probation and prison services. I remain convinced that this was the right thing to do, but that doesn't mean I am not aware of your concerns and I want to take this opportunity to explain the thinking behind NOMS and what I want it to achieve.
Above all, I want offender management to be as effective as possible, whether in the community, in custody, or as offenders pass between the two. Too often in the past, through no fault of yours, offenders have been left to fall through the cracks between the prison and probation services.
By placing both services under the oversight of the same agency we will be able to cement up those cracks and provide seamless and effective offender management.
This means an improved service for offenders, but I also want to see an improved service for probation staff. I know that visiting prisons can be far from a seamless process, and I want to see probation staff being given easier access to prisons, not being seen as visitors, but as colleagues in NOMS.
And I will expect a strong, streamlined NOMS headquarters to lead delivery of this service and to challenge existing ways of thinking.
I know that there are doubts about what this will mean in practice. Let me be clear. The restructuring of NOMS is not, is not, a merger of the probation and prison services, nor is it a prison takeover of the probation service. I value the century of history of the Probation Service. Here in North Wales in my own constituency I know the positive impact the probation service has had.
Both prisons and probation will remain as individual delivery services, with their own - different - governance and employment structures. The new regional structures we will introduce by April will see real responsibility and accountability flow through regional Directors of Offender Management and down to the front line. And NOMS restructuring is not a move towards central control. Probation is, and will remain, a service rooted in local accountability.
I will also be clear what NOMS restructuring is. NOMS restructuring is about making sure that there is coordination of offender management at a regional level, whether those offenders are in custody or in the community. One of the most important aspects of this change will be the appointment of 10 Directors of Offender Management - DOMS.
These posts, at director level, will be accountable for performance in their areas. They will be accountable for making sure all delivery agencies, probation, public and private sector prisons, and the voluntary sector contribute effectively to offender management. And they will be accountable for integrating service provision locally across these providers and with others such as local authorities. Local Area Agreements and Public Service Agreements will play a role.
Probation will be at the heart of this delivery model, and Roger Hill, the current director of probation, was the logical choice for the first DOM post in the South East, the largest region. The other nine posts will be advertised externally and we will move quickly to get the right people in into these positions, which I expect to be filled by April next year.
And collectively all ten DOMS - who will each answer to the NOMS chief operating officer and ultimately to me as the minister - will become the key body influencing operational strategy. So on the front line you should see more cooperation between organisations and less bureaucracy.
More regional direction and fewer national directives. Better ways of working, and phasing out inefficient practices. And probation will be a central part of this top delivery team you can be certain that probation expertise will remain at the heart of the strategy.
A few moments ago I confirmed that probation would remain rooted in local accountability. One of the ways this in being achieved is through the establishment of local probation trusts. In April we announced the first wave of Probation Trusts - Humberside, Leicestershire, Dyfed Powys, West Mercia, South Wales and Merseyside.
They are doing a good job, and I congratulate those trusts, and those of you working within those trusts, on achieving the high standards required to migrate to trust status. These changes were not made for change's sake; the purpose is to provide more freedom and the best quality service for local areas to deliver and maintain high standards that are suited to their community.
However, I know this period of waiting has caused some uncertainty - and I want to end this uncertainty as soon as I can. Whilst I can't make any announcements on this today, because Parliament needs to know first, we are currently considering final proposals on how we move forward. I hope to be able to make an announcement on the future direction of Probation Trusts by the end of this month. Clarity and certainty are what I will be seeking.
I can assure you however that local empowerment is one of the key principles behind the development off trusts. I want probation areas to be able to demonstrate how authority and budgets are delegated to local leaders, giving them the real decision-making powers they need to engage locally. All trusts will be expected to have local delivery units with boundaries corresponding to those of local authorities wherever possible.
This is important because we need to improve further, and demonstrate those improvements at a local level. The public needs to be able to trust and have confidence in the Probation Service, and indeed in all our offender management services. Under this government, probation spending has increased to £1 billion a year, and it is reasonable that public expectation for an investment of this size will be high.
That's why I want to see more public involvement in the development of community sentences, and more public understanding around the work that you do and the contribution that you make. To achieve this, we need strong and permanent ties between probation and local delivery agencies such as local authorities.
I know there are already links and connections are in place between these bodies. But I want to work harder with you so that we can find new and innovative ways of demonstrating the value of your work within local communities.
Of course, one of the most obvious examples of how we can make progress here is in respect of unpaid work. Let me say at the outset that from my visits to sites across the country I have seen excellent examples of unpaid work.
In Leicester at the launch of Citizens' Panels in September the local community were suggesting work to be undertaken, and the probation staff, along with the council, were making this happen. I have seen the wasteland near where I live transformed for the benefit of the community by unpaid work.
I want my constituents and members of the public across the country, to know about and recognise your achievements. And those achievements include the major improvements to the environments of local communities which those undertaking unpaid work can make as reparation for the crimes they have committed. I don't want to have to remind my constituents about this work every time I meet them; I want my constituents and other people's constituents to see it for their own eyes in their community and tell me what they think of it. Members of the public in my constituency and across the country should have a greater say in what projects would be most appropriate and most suitable for such work.
The key to that success is visibility. Visible outcomes, projects that are badged, and the community involved in making decisions about the projects. I want the public to know, victims to know and sentencers and I want us to be able to celebrate and to know the good work that is being carried out.
Now I know we may disagree about the visibility of the offender themselves. I know the debate about visibility often gets polarised about issues concerning vests. We will need to continue those discussions with Napo and others, and I will emphasise now that health and safety considerations must and will be central to those discussions. However, the prize we need to collectively strive for is even greater public understanding of, and confidence in and greater public involvement in, how we manage offenders safely in the community. I think on this level we have a shared and common purpose.
I understand that the future of training in probation will be of concern to the members of Napo, and your colleagues.
If I can be political for a minute, we recognise the danger of a 'Howard Gap' and suspending any training programme for probation staff causes difficulties that can take years to remedy. We want to value the skills of existing staff, and reduce the problems that deter long serving staff to take a pay cut to become a trainee probation officer and support that move.
So back to where I began, it is what happens at a local level that really matters in this business. It is my role, and the role of the management board, to manage the budget and governance of probation in such a way that the books are balanced and the lines of authority are clear.
But it is your role to get out there, at the sharp end of offender management where statistics mean nothing and individuals mean everything. And so I would like to finish by thanking you again for making a difference to the lives of those you work with, and to the lives of those in the communities in which you live, to the success of the criminal justice system and to the safety of the wider public.