A new report by the probation watchdog (HMI Probation) has found that the new private Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) are telling staff not to take action against offenders who breach sentence terms, due to the risk of being fined. The…
Blog Archives
Prison reform will fail unless safety and staff retention addressed, says Justice Committee
An action plan is “urgently needed to reverse…[the]…rapid deterioration” in prison safety, concludes a new report by the House of Commons Justice Committee. Published just prior to the government’s Queen’s Speech announcement of a major overhaul of prison services, the…
Posted in Prisons
Napo Press release: Probation union gives qualified welcome to prison reform plans
Please see below for Napo’s response to the Prison and Courts Reform Bill announced in today’s Queen’s Speech: Napo the trade union for probation and family court workers has welcomed the general direction of the prison reforms that featured in…
Posted in News
Napo press release: National Audit Office – Transforming Rehabilitation
The following is a press release from Napo regarding the publication of a recent National Audit Office (NAO) report on the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms to probation services. We have explored the NAO report findings and new independent research commissioned…
Posted in News
Unaccountable providers, service chaos, workforce pushed to the limit: Probation after the ‘reforms’
A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not know how well the companies responsible for running probation services are performing, due to “limitations around data quality and availability.” The…
Harsh legal aid evidence tests for domestic violence are unlawful, rules Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal has today ruled that the harsh evidence tests faced by victims of domestic violence when applying for legal aid are unlawful. The legal challenge was brought to the Court of Appeal by the Public Law Project…
MoJ reveals 15 closed courts remain unsold and empty, costing £40,000 a month
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has revealed that it has yet to dispose of 15 closed courts from a previous round of court closures, as it is poised to embark on the closure of a further 91 courts and tribunals…
Posted in News
Whistleblowing judge sues Ministry of Justice over courtroom dangers in an under-resourced system
District judge Claire Gilham is suing the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), having said that budget cuts and slashed legal aid have put pressure on the legal system and even exposed the judiciary to violence. In an interview with The Guardian,…
Unrepresented defendants negatively affect court proceedings, finds survey of magistrates
A survey by the Magistrates’ Association (MA) together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism earlier this year revealed the shocking impact of cuts to legal aid and the rise in defendants representing themselves (called ‘litigants-in-person’ (LIPs), with magistrates warning of…
Posted in News
Justice Committee calls on government to scrap criminal courts charge, in new report
The House of Commons Justice Committee has today released a report which calls for the repeal of the criminal courts charge, introduced in April 2015, just prior to the general election. The report considers the effects of the introduction of…
Posted in Courts
