Commenting on Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service’s (HMPPS) rescue plan for probation announced today (Friday), UNISON national officer for probation Ben Priestley said:
“These lacklustre proposals are half-hearted and ill-thought-out.
“Last month the Justice Select Committee laid bare the failings of the government’s probation reforms. This rescue plan is just more of the same. Probation will still be disastrously split as this failed experiment in privatisation continues.
“Probation must be put back together, returned to public ownership and this privatisation nightmare brought to an end.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON represents 3,000 people working for the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 community rehabilitation companies (CRCs), the private firms awarded contracts in 2014 to supervise non high-risk offenders.
– UNISON wants the probation service brought back together, the CRCs returned to public ownership once their existing contracts have been terminated and HMPPS reformed.
Media contacts:
Anna Mauremootoo T: 0207 121 5555 M: 07903 870786 E: a.mauremootoo@unison.co.uk
Sophie Goodchild T: 0207 121 5546 M: 07767 325595 E: press@unison.co.uk
