Select Committee on Home Affairs Written Evidence


Attachment 1

LOCAL PROBATION BOARDS IN ENGLAND AND WALES

BACKGROUND TO THIS PAPER

  This paper was requested by Martin Narey, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), following a discussion about local probation boards with PBA Chair John Raine and Chief Executive Martin Wargent. The aims of the paper are to:

    —  Set out the context of establishing local probation boards.

    —  Summarise boards' aims, statutory duties and ways of working.

    —  Describe the current position in relation to the size and membership of boards.

    —  Provide some information on the costs of operating boards.

    —  Set out the PBA's position on board size and judicial membership specifically.

  The paper has been approved by the PBA Board of Directors.

LOCAL PROBATION BOARDS

Aims and duties

  Local probation boards were established by the Criminal Justice and Courts Services Act 2000 as a vital part of the new National Probation Service (NPS) for England and Wales. Boards are bodies corporate and came into being on 1 April 2001. Boards have the following overall aims:

    —  The reduction of re-offending.

    —  The protection of the public.

    —  The proper punishment of offenders.

    —  Ensuring offenders' awareness of the effects of crime on victims and the public.

    —  The rehabilitation of offenders.

  In achieving these aims, the duties placed upon Boards by the Act and the regulations that flow from it are:

    —  Ensuring the provision of assistance to the courts in determining sentencing and other decisions relating to offenders.

    —  Ensuring the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders.

    —  Ensuring the giving of effect to "community orders".

    —  Ensuring the supervision of offenders released from prison on licence.

    —  Ensuring the provision of accommodation for offenders in approved premises.

    —  Where appropriate, making arrangements with organisations and individuals for the provision of services.

    —  Ensuring the co-operation with other organisations or individuals in the Area who are concerned with the prevention or reduction of crime or with giving assistance to the victims of crime.

    —  Where appropriate, giving grants or other financial assistance in relation to the provision of services.

    —  Where appropriate, making arrangements with other boards in relation to the provision of services.

  Boards therefore govern the work of the probation service at the local (Area) level. They employ probation service staff; represent the interests of, and involve local communities in, the work of the service; forge partnerships and alliances with other sectors and criminal justice agencies; and raise public awareness of community sentences for offenders as an effective alternative to custody. The 2000 Act recognised the importance of securing the understanding, support and confidence of local people in the work that probation carries out in the safe and effective management of offenders in the community.

  A local board works towards achieving its aims and fulfilling its duties through systems and processes such as:

    —  Establishing the strategic direction of its Area, within the policy and resources framework determined by the Home Secretary.

    —  Preparing an annual Area plan and budget, in a national format based on the European Excellence Model (EEM), which contains both national and local priorities and takes account of national performance measures set by the NPD; the plan is submitted to the Director General of the NPS for agreement.

    —  Contracting with other organisations for the provision of services eg employment, education and training for offenders.

    —  Within the context of the National Negotiating Committee (NNC) for the probation service, being a good employer.

    —  Meeting collectively as a Board (as required by the regulations flowing from the Act) at least four times, and as far as practicable, ten times a year and to hold these meetings in public.

    —  Monitoring and assessing the Area's performance against the annual plan so as to ensure continuous improvement of performance.

    —  Via a statutory audit committee, review the financial management and probity of the board.

Size and membership

  The Act and its regulations provide for a board size of seven to 15 members, for an initial term of office of three years, and comprising an intended membership of:

    —  A chair.

    —  A chief officer, who is also the only executive member of the board.

    —  A Lord Chancellor's appointee, being a judge of the High Court, a Circuit judge or a Recorder.

    —  Other members including, where practicable, four magistrates and two elected members of local authorities from within the Area, with the balance drawn from people living or working in the local Area.

  The Home Secretary decided at the time that all boards should initially have 15 members. After the first two years, Ministers reviewed the arrangements and agreed that all boards would continue with 15 places. Ministers also agreed that existing board members, including chairs, may be re-appointed for one further term without taking part in an open competition subject to an assessment of satisfactory performance and to meeting competency requirements. The PBA played an active part in revising the existing competency framework so as to provide a proper and robust basis for the re-appointment process.

  Probation boards, in concept and practice, represent a unique form of local governance. Although, unlike say local councillors, Board members are not elected they are selected in open competition and carry the authority of being Ministerial appointees. Collectively, they seek to be representative of the communities they serve. The proper behaviour of board members is defined by a national code of conduct, issued from the NPD by the direction of the Secretary of State in April 2003, which includes the Seven Principles of Public Life, and in addition requirements such as the recognition and valuing of diversity.

REMUNERATION AND COSTS

  The rates of annual remuneration for board chairs range from £15,400 to a maximum of £27,500, dependent upon Area size, although the upper end of the scale only applies to London. Other board members receive an hourly rate of £15.40. These rates have risen only once since boards were established and the current levels, which represent a 10% increase on the original 2001 rates, were applied from 1 April 2004 following a review by the National Probation Directorate (NPD). The overwhelming majority of board chairs were effectively subjected to a reduction in remuneration in real terms, since the 10% increase did not consolidate the element paid to chairs appointed in April 2001 in lieu of a pension contribution.

  A PBA study in March 2003 found the average cost of running a probation board to be £53,400, including board members' remuneration and expenses, which represented an average of 0.7% of an Area's total budget. Whilst not all boards used the same basis for costing their activities, this data provides a useful indication of board running costs.

PBA POSITION STATEMENT ON THE SIZE AND JUDICIAL MEMBERSHIP OF LOCAL PROBATION BOARDS

Board size

  The PBA's experience to date is that the current board size is generally appropriate and that any statutory reduction in size could not be justified, due to the following factors:

    —  The nature and breadth of the roles and responsibilities placed upon boards by the Act.

    —  The critical importance of a board membership which is representative of the diversity (in its broadest sense) of the local Area, so that a board can be effective in its critical role in local community engagement.

    —  In their role as employers the need for boards to have a sufficient number of members who are skilled and experienced in employee relations matters so as, for example, to hear staff disciplinary and grievance cases and to ensure that the different stages of such processes can be sustained.

    —  The additional requirements for Boards of becoming a pivotal part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), such as moving the service towards an offender management model and extending their commissioning function.

    —  The cost effectiveness of boards in their current form.

    —  The view taken by Ministers only last year that board size should be maintained at 15 members, which has recently been reaffirmed by the Director General of the NPS.

  However the PBA recognises that some local discretion over the size of boards might be appropriate, although this should not be to the detriment of boards' performance and in particular with regard to local community engagement. As HM Inspectorate of Probation's report of 2003, "From Aspirations to Reality—An Inspection of the Governance of Probation Areas by Probation Boards", concluded:

    "The demands from the Government to develop a strong NPS within an effective correctional services structure will inevitably continue to make it difficult for a specific dimension to be brought to the work that reflects the needs of the local community. A persistent theme from this inspection is that, by adopting a particular view of how effective performance is best achieved, the NPS may be in danger of becoming overly centralised with too little room for manoeuvre being given to probation areas and their Boards. The challenge for both Boards and the NPD is to ensure such local considerations do not get lost within the framework of national developments and, as part of this, for Board members to be a key part of the process of the NPS being linked to the communities it serves. This means that if Boards are to develop their potential, the local dimension still needs to be given greater scope and encouragement".

  Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act states that there should be a minimum board membership of seven—chair, chief officer and five other members. The Local Probation Boards (Appointment) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No 3342) state that a local probation board shall have a maximum of 15 members. Taken together, these therefore provide the potential for variations in board size between Areas.

  Equally we do not believe there is a case for increasing the size of boards: the former 54 probation committees, which preceded boards and could have as many as 50 members, were generally recognised as typically being too large to be fit for purpose.

Judicial membership

  The PBA understands that there is significant variation in boards' experiences of the contribution made by judicial appointees. Such experiences vary typically from a Judge being a full and active board member, both within and outside of board meetings, to other Judges being unclear or uncomfortable about their role. In a few cases, whilst an appointment was made initially, the judges involved subsequently withdrew within a few months and have not been replaced. Clearly, a Judge can be a real asset to a board, serving as an effective conduit with a critical stakeholder group of the probation service.

  The possibility of judges feeling compromised as full members of probation boards was anticipated when boards were being established in 2001. The PBA undertook a survey with a view to seeking a clear statement from the then Lord Chancellor's Department and the Home Office on the role of judges on probation boards. Despite our persistent efforts, discussions between the National Probation Directorate and the LCD did not come to fruition and we would be keen to make a renewed effort to resolve this issue with the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Mike Caldwell

Governance Manager

September 2004

1.  BOARD MEMBERSHIP COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

COMPETENCIES

What are they?

  Competencies are descriptions of performance that reflect how Board Chairs and Board Members should perform their role, and be proficient at demonstrating that they are effective in various aspects of their roles. They are observable behaviours that are made up of the following three elements:

    —  Skills;

    —  Knowledge;

    —  Personal Attributes.

  When these are applied effectively, the work performance, which results, is described as competent.

  Five Core Competencies have been developed to reflect the behaviours applicable to Chairs and other Board members in the National Probation Service (excluding Chief Officers and judicial appointees). Each competence consists of key sub-competencies. These are categorised as follows:

Corporate Responsibility— Governance
— Whole Organisation Understanding
— Conduct
Organisational Excellence— Champions Change
— Personal Responsibility
— Performance Management
Valuing and Enabling Diversity— Leadership
— Personal Values
Ambassador— Community
— Staff
— Partnership
Working with People— Meeting skills
— Team Work
— Communication
— Developing others

Details of the behavioural statements that underpin these sub-competencies are described in sections 2 to 6.

Why are they important?

  For the review of performance to be worthwhile and accurate, it is important to understand the behaviours that are required of board chairs and members and reflect how these behaviours can be used to effectively drive the National Probation Service towards meeting organisational strategy, ie A New Choreography, Achieving through People HR Strategy, and the Diversity Strategy, The Heart of the Dance. The use of competencies will help to review whether board chairs and members are exhibiting the behaviours that are key to the National Probation Service's success. The two main benefits are:

    —    To ensure that individuals in different Areas have a common understanding—for example, of what merits good communication or what it means to be an effective leader.

    —    To ensure a high level of consistency when assessing performance—all Appraisers will know what good performance should look like and will know what needs to be reviewed and what can be ignored.

  They are a useful tool, that can reduce subjectivity and be used to give board chairs and member's clear focus on areas that require improved performance. This will then allow the introduction of learning, to address the development needs of board chairs and members.

2.  CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Being Collectively responsible and accountable for leadership, direction and control of the Area


Board Members and Chairs
Chairs

Governance:—Accept responsibility as employer and be accountable for decisions made by the board

—Demonstrate ability to identify and manage risk

—Appreciate the importance of robust assurance and audit and the link to performance improvement

—Ensure proper use of resources and value for money

—Scrutinise key issues and challenge where appropriate

—Demonstrate leadership in the formulation and development of Board structure, Governance and decision making processes

—Maintain the Board's focus on meeting objectives and on the management of risk to their achievement


Whole
Organisation
Understanding:
—Demonstrate a broad understanding of the work of Probation and how it impinges on victim, offender and the community

—Understand and value the role and inter-relationship of the component parts of the NPS

—Understands the strategic objectives of the NPS and ensures that local plans and policies accord with them

—Understand and value the role and inter-relationship of the component parts of the NPS and the Criminal Justice system

—Encourage participation in the formulation of National Policy through consultation

Conduct:—Demonstrate and promote high standards of integrity and propriety

—Recognise the distinction between board responsibilities and those of the Chief Officer
—Establish a proper relationship of openness and trust with the CO and Board members

—Maintain high standards of integrity and propriety through leadership and example


3.  ORGANISATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Lead the Service as it strives for organisational excellence through continuous improvement


Board Members and Chairs
Chairs

Champions Change:—Scrutinise information to identify areas that would benefit from change

—Contribute to the formulation of strategies and policies to effect change

—Demonstrate leadership in supporting and promoting the implementation of change

—Contribute to the review of Board processes to ensure that they are fit for the purpose in driving organisational excellence

—Lead the drive for organisational excellence

Personal responsibility:—Act as a role model in driving forward (and supporting staff through) change

—Demonstrate a commitment to the values and changing culture of the organisation

—Recognise the impact of his/her behaviour and be willing to change to achieve results if necessary

—Support members and staff through the process of change

Performance Management:—Understand the performance monitoring process and be able to define the information needed for the monitoring role of the Board

—Provide direction and support to enable the Service to achieve high standards

—Identify and focus on critical priorities to ensure continuous improvement
—Maximise opportunities for identifying and incorporating best practice



4.  VALUING AND ENABLING DIVERSITY

Understand and appreciate the impact that valuing and managing difference can make to organisational effectiveness


Board Members and Chairs
Chairs

Leadership:—Respect and value the contributions of all individuals within the Service

—Use appropriate information to ensure that service delivery meets the diverse needs of service users

—Scrutinise and monitor recruitment, retention, training and advancement strategies to ensure that they are fair and effective

—Critically examine and challenge policies and practice to ensure that their application and outcomes reflect the value the Board places on diversity

—Set a clear example of commitment to valuing diversity in all aspects of the Board

Promoting Equal Opportunity—Ensure the Board discharges its legislative responsibilities in relation to diversity

—Demonstrate accountability in respect of the Board discharging its legislative responsibilities

Personal Values:—Challenge inappropriate behaviour
and language
—Create and maintain a culture that expects appropriate behaviour and language at all times


5.  AMBASSADOR

Promote and represent the Board and the Service both internally and externally


Board Members and Chairs
Chairs

Community—Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of local communities and their service delivery needs

—Make opportunities to positively promote the role and work of the service

—Ensure that the Probation Service is visible and has a proper profile within the area

Staff—Engage with staff, listen to their views and promote the work of the Board

Partnership—Represent the Board with partners and key stakeholders when required —Lead effective representation of the board with key Criminal Justice Agencies, the community, local politicians, NPD and the Home Office and to give feedback to the board


6.  WORKING WITH PEOPLE

Achieving results through effective communication and team working


Board Members and Chairs
Chairs

Meeting Skills—Thorough preparation undertaken prior to all meetings and events

—Demonstrate Active Listening and presentation skills

—Demonstrate judgement, coupled with effective analytical and decision-making skills

—Demonstrate excellent chairing skills

Team Work—Be able to convey own point of view clearly and persuasively without dominating the team

—Provide and accept regular feedback to improve the effectiveness of individuals and the team

—Make best use of Board members' skills, knowledge and experience

Communication—Communicate in a way that is clear, relevant and concise

—Provide written work or reports that are clear and succinct

Developing Others—Promote and support a learning and development culture within Area

—Take responsibility for self-development
—Ensure the Board members have appropriate learning and development opportunities

—Conduct effective appraisal of and review meetings with individual Board Members

—Effectively manage performance of Board members





 
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