Commenting on the National Audit Office’s Transforming Rehabilitation: Progress Review published today (Friday), UNISON national officer Ben Priestley said: “This is a devastating critique of a catastrophic privatisation and reads like a catalogue of disaster.
“Rather than ploughing on regardless with a failed system, the Justice Secretary must now take control and bring these contracts back into public ownership.
“No amount of tinkering around the edges will make these CRCs work. The probation service needs to be unified, for the sake of community safety, the public and staff.”
Notes to editors:
– Community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) were introduced to manage low and medium-risk offenders from 2015.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in both the public and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes T: 020 7121 5255 M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen T: 0207 121 5463 M: 07778 158175 E: l.chinchen@unison.co.uk