CIRC 014: NATIONAL CHAIR UPDATE FEBRUARY 2023

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

Secure Hospitals

Now that consultative ballots have been completed the POA has authorised a statutory ballot to take place in the following 2 healthcare trusts:

• Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

This will affect POA members working at Ashworth Secure Psychiatric Hospital and associated sites, and Rampton Secure Psychiatric Hospital.

As both Employers are within the healthcare sector there is a requirement under the law, that all industrial action ballots must reach a 50% turnout with a vote in favour of industrial action met by 40 per cent of all those entitled to vote. What this means is that  POA members in both trusts need to ensure half of the membership return a ballot paper 

The ballot for industrial action will commence on 1st  March 2023 and will be asking whether you would be prepared to take part in strike action in respect of the pay offer for 2022-23. 

Officer Apprenticeship Scheme

We have been informed by HMPPS of the following changes to the Officer Apprenticeship Scheme

Key changes to be made immediately: 

1. A ‘break in learning’ will be triggered for the majority of enrolled apprentices (c2,200) for a period of approximately four months. This staffing group will be given the choice to either withdraw from the apprenticeship or continue with their learning once establishment readiness is achieved.
2. Those apprentices nearing the end of their qualification will remain enrolled and supported to completion by both HMPPS and L&D (c1000).
3. New entrants will continue to be enrolled onto the C&DA at the point of employment start date, they will complete their establishment two weeks initial training, and foundation training. At this point they will then be placed on a ‘break in learning’ and offered a choice to withdraw or continue. This process will remain for those in the current recruitment pipeline.
4. For those who wish to continue with their studies. there will no longer be a requirement to complete the Level 3 Management and Care of individuals in Custody or Detention Diploma (MCiCDD), significantly reducing the expectations placed upon our learners.

Operation Safeguard

HMPPS have given the Police Force 14 days notice that they will ask for 151 Operation Safeguard places to be made available in their cells in some regions. The decision is due to rising demand in the North.

Car sharing pilot underway

The employer has finally confirmed the launch of the now delayed car sharing scheme:

HMPPS staff who give two or more colleagues a lift to work can claim back a contribution towards the cost of fuel under a new MoJ car sharing pilot scheme which has now been launched. The scheme is open to all staff to provide financial support through the winter in light of continued rising goods and energy prices and wider cost of living pressures. The trial will be reviewed at the end of March 2023 to assess take up of the scheme and ongoing affordability.

Tornado staff

HMPPS have confirmed that due to a lack of volunteers their tornado commitment is significantly lower than expectations. We have informed them that if they offer staff a financial incentive to become tornado trained then they may be able to fulfil their commitments. So far, the employer has refused to implement our suggestion. All staff are reminded that to become Tornado trained you must be a volunteer. We maintain our stance that additional skills obtained by POA members should attract additional salary payments. If staff continue to not volunteer for such tasks then HMPPS will be forced to pay you more to cover the lack of sufficiently skilled staff covering essential operational contingencies and commitments.

Justice Select Committee

I was recently asked to give evidence to the Commons Justice Select Committee who have launched an inquiry into the Prison Operational Workforce, specifically covering recruitment and retention. My evidence can be viewed via the following link.

https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/b75f8734-dbe4-4bd6-83ab-d17222823555

House of Commons Justice Committee survey of Prison Officers and OSG staff

All POA members working in Prisons both public sector and Private in England and Wales are encouraged to participate in the following survey:

The House of Commons Justice Committee is conducting an inquiry into the prison operational workforce and is seeking the views of staff at the operational support (OSG) and prison officer grades. The inquiry is seeking to understand why high volumes of staff are leaving the Prison Service and the implications of staff turnover against the backdrop of existing pressures. The inquiry is also looking at what steps can be taken to improve recruitment and retention of staff, and will examine whether the Prison Service is adequately resourced to manage the projected prison population increase in the coming years.

As part of the Committee’s work, it is asking OSG staff and Prison Officers to complete a short survey to get a better understanding about their experience of working in the Prison Service, current levels of morale, and how staff feel about their working conditions, pay and benefits, and access to equipment and training.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to fill out, and is completely confidential. The Committee is keen to hear from as many people as possible. You can access the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/cjt4f31wad

The Justice Committee is completely independent of the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service. It includes a mix of MPs from different political parties. The results of the survey will help the Committee make recommendations to the Government on how to improve the recruitment and retention of OSG and Prison Officer staff, and how to improve their working lives.

HMPPS Submission to the Prison Service Pay Review Body

HMPPS have finally submitted their recommendations to the Pay Review Body. They have recommended the following:

A flat rate consolidated award of £2,000 for all staff on the Band 2 spot rate. This represents an increase of 10.3% on the 2022 National rate.

Flat rate consolidated award at Bands 3-5 of:

• £1,015 at Band 3
• £1,140 at Band 4
• £1,300 at Band 5

This amounts to a proposed 4% pay increase for Bands 3-5.

Maintaining the Residual Market Supplements, as the payments currently stand: at £2,000 for ‘Red’ sites and £3,500 for ‘Red Plus’.

No pay award for closed grades.

POA members are reminded that these are recommendations from HMPPS and we are yet to give oral evidence. Ultimately the Pay Review Body will decide what an appropriate award is.

POA submissions will be circulated to the membership in due course.

On your behalf I have commented on these insulting proposals to our Director General Phil Copple.

Regime Expansion

The NEC have been made aware of a directive from the Director General Phil Copple to all Governors and PGDs asking them to review their regimes so they may “provide  a full and productive regime, subject to appropriate risk assessment, in order to ensure a safe, decent and purposeful operating environment for prisoners and staff.” The directive also states that “the view that it is Governors, along with PGDs, who are best placed to assess and manage the balance of risks and competing priorities locally.”

This directive is a direct result of complaints from the Prison Inspectorate that “Many Category C prisons are failing to perform their designated functions as training or resettlement establishments, with prisoners spending long periods locked in their cells rather than being in work, education or training.”

For the avoidance of doubt all future regimes, including unlock numbers, movement of prisoners and prisoner on and off wing activities must be agreed locally with the POA. The National Executive Committee has been clear in our stance that we do not advocate full wing unlocks and all unlock numbers and activities must be based on risk after considering the staffing resource you have available. If you have less than 100% staff availability then you cannot deliver 100% of the tasks asked of you so some tasks must be dropped.

If you have reverted to pre covid levels of unlock numbers including association periods then it should have been agreed with your local POA committee. If this is not the case please contact your local POA committee in the first instance who can liaise with their area NEC representative. The NEC do not advocate full wing unlocks but would rarely interfere in local agreements if local committees deem their regimes to be sufficiently staffed and safe.

It is inadvisable to expand any regime or increase unlock numbers if you have not satisfied the following criteria:

1. You have entirely cleared the backlog of safety critical training for all operational staff bands 2-5 (RPE, C&R, MMPR,PAVA, SPEAR, RBH, ACCT)
2. You have an agreed Regime Management Plan in operation that has been signed by the local POA Committee and the Governor.
3. You have detailed standalone key work sessions.
4. You have adequate first aid at work trained staff on duty for any given 24 hour period.
5. Your Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work have been reviewed and updated within the last 12 months.

Prison Inspectors are consistently producing out of touch reports that fail to recognise the pressures you are all subject to. Your safety is non-negotiable. 

Please ensure you do not agree to unlock any number of prisoners that you and your members deem to be unmanageable. If you are experiencing pressure from your SMT to do so please immediately contact your area NEC Representative for advice.

This is our chance to make our prisons safe and we must not ignore that because some leaders want to unlock large groups of prisoners for prolonged periods with little to do to occupy them or address their offending behaviour. Remember, we serve the public not the Prison Inspectorate. We must work together in good faith with local Senior Management teams to provide a safe environment for our staff and those in our care.

 

All the best.

Mark Fairhurst
National Chair