News Room

Please bring the contents of this circular to the attention of all POA members.

Please find attached the letter to the Parliamentary Under Secertary of State (Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment) stating our case as to why POA members and more widely prison staff and those in our care should be in the priority group for vaccinations.

The POA has a proud history of recognising the hard work and dedication of members. 

Please find attached NEC minutes for 13^th January 2021 for your information.

I recognise that there are extreme sensitivities around Prison staff vaccinations as keyworkers during the pandemic and the POA and indeed HMPPS Senior leaders are making the case to Government that Prisons are just as equally important as any other workplace where keyworkers exist and that prison staff and those in our care should be prioritised.

As you know the POA Annual Conference was cancelled in 2020 where the above awards would have been given.

See questions asked regarding Pay Review Body’s Nineteenth Report on England and Wales 2020

Representatives of various legal professional bodies (including the Criminal Bar Association) and trade unions are calling for an immediate review of safety arrangements across the HMCTS estate amidst rising concerns that courts are unsafe and fail to implement measures to ensure that all buildings are Covid-19 secure.

Future parliamentary business (provisional) from Monday 18 January 

In 2020 (prior to the Covid-19 pandemic), the POA commissioned a survey of members to examine their work-related wellbeing.