[2019] Motion 69 Stop government recidivism on rehabilitation

Composited motion

Received from:

Merged into composite 15

Congress notes the significant U-turn announced by the government to begin to restore the probation system after its wrecking by Chris Grayling in 2014. Hidden behind the headline that offender management is to return to public control is the news that the government will attempt yet another part-privatisation of probation services, this time selling off the delivery of unpaid work and rehabilitative interventions to the lowest bidder. The government cannot be allowed to repeat the same mistakes again.

Probation professionals believe that there is a place for a genuine mix of providers of specialist services in probation but no one should ever profit from the delivery of justice.

In order to repair probation and deliver quality rehabilitation and risk management it is vital that professionals working in the system are involved in designing its future shape.

Congress calls on the TUC to support union campaigns for a probation system:
i. staffed by professionals properly recognised and valued for their skill and
experience with training and development embedded and properly resourced
ii. that works with all local partners and stakeholders, and is rooted in and
accountable to the local community
iii. that involves high-quality, specialist, third-sector providers
iv. where quality and evidence-based practice guide decisions and when things go wrong lessons are learned by the whole system
v. where practitioner workloads are managed to allow them to work effectively
and reflectively with clients
vi. that restores the confidence of sentencers and the public in rehabilitation and risk management.

Napo