Emergency Service Collaboration – PCSO/Fire Fighters

Conference we are concerned about the proposals for PCSO’s (Police Community Support Officers) being encouraged to become retained firefighters. Discussions are taking place between the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) and one of our District Commanders. It is proposed the use of volunteer/retained firefighters be trialled with PCSO’s within the districts of Braintree […]

FUTURE OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE IN ENGLAND

This Conference notes the publication in September of the Final Report of the Commission on the Future of Health and social Care in England issued by the King’s Fund. This Report is concerned with the provision and affordability of Social Care. Some organisations representing older people have already welcomed the fact that the provision of […]

Cocoa Tins and String

Conference is very concerned that, as more and more important communications are made online solely, retired members who do not have computer access (except for the limited use available in public libraries – where they have not been closed) are being left out and left behind. Regions and large Branches, let alone UNISON Head Office, […]

Overnight Allowance

Currently police staff who are required to work and/or stay away from home overnight are not allowed to claim the £50 overnight allowance that their police officer colleagues can. This motion calls upon the Service Group Executive to undertake work with the Police Staff Council to seek to ensure that this provision is extended to […]

Uniform Laundering Allowance

Police staff who are required to launder items of uniform are entitled to claim a tax allowance via Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). There is a marked disparity between police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and other uniformed staff with regard to how much they can claim. There may be a logical explanation […]

Stop probation privatisation

It is Chris Graylings ideological view that private companies can run the probation service better than it is currently being run and he somehow believes that inexperienced private companies and their untrained staff can reduce reoffending in a very short period of time. This proposal is not just due to austerity this is yet another […]

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Police Staff

A number of police staff are employed in roles or environments that are confrontational. Many believe that they need to be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as a safety measure. Forces have been issued with guidance with regard to the provision or non provision of PPE for groups of workers that have resulted in […]

Probation on Probation

The changes to the probation service that took effect on 1 June 2014 are yet another example of the condem government dismantling and privatising public services. We believe the changes were not necessary, and that they will ultimately prove to have been a disastrous and costly move. They are quite likely to place the users […]

Protecting Equality in the Probation Service

Conference welcomes the campaigning work by our union against the potential privatisation of the probation service. Alongside concerns about the likely disastrous impact on service delivery are very real concerns about the impact on staff terms and conditions. The probation service, as a public body, was subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty and as […]

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Scene Preservation

Every day somewhere up and down the country a crime will be committed that requires the scene to preserved for evidence. This could be for a matter of hours, days or weeks dependent on the crime. As police forces face massive cuts in finance police community support officers (PCSOs) are being utilised more and more […]

Neighbourhood Policing – The Future?

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are the backbone of Neighbourhood Policing. Due to the abstraction of Neighbourhood Police Officers to support response teams and no longer carrying out any proactive work, this is placing the onus evermore on our overworked PCSO members. What is the future for Neighbourhood Policing? Since this coalition government came to […]

National Alignment of Terms and Conditions in Approved Premises

The Probation Service has just been split into 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) and one National Probation Service (NPS). All the Approved Premises (AP) in England and Cymru Wales have been assigned to the NPS and along with the 21 CRCs will be subject to a single table national collective bargaining agreement. The APs are […]

Discipline Investigations and Processes

Conference notes that the Police Staff Council of England and Wales published Guidance on Police Staff Misconduct Procedures on 15th August 2011. These guidelines, where adopted, provide a reassuring framework for staff that are being investigated for cases of misconduct or gross misconduct. However, many investigations are being conducted by warranted police officers in Professional […]

Career Progression in the CRC?

Conference, the Probation Service has now been split into 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) and one National Probation Service (NPS). However, the process that saw staff assigned to the CRCs and NPS was not an agreed process, nor was it fair, in many cases it was purely arbitrary with staff names being drawn out of […]

Volunteer Police Community Support Officers

Conference we are concerned about the recruitment of Volunteer Police Community Support Officers. These volunteers will be in full uniform and working alongside regular employed Police Community Support Officers (PCSO). They will not have the same powers as the PCSOs but will have the same core objectives and responsibilities. The main concerns are: 1)They have […]