UK Probation Told To Underspend
BBC News has seen an official letter which appears to cast doubt on claims by UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw that probation failings in a recent serious case were due to staff mismanaging their resources.
Mr Straw said a budget underspend by the London probation service was evidence that staff had failed to manage their resources effectively. On 8 June, Mr Straw told MPs that the failings in probation work highlighted by the Sonnex case were not the result of a lack of resources. He said probation funding had increased by 70% in real terms since 1997, and that London Probation had underspent its £154m budget by £3.5m – about 2%. “This was a failure to use the resources available to London Probation effectively,” Mr Straw said …
But the letter suggests probation areas were actively encouraged to under spend … bearing the crest of Mr Straw’s department, [the letter] makes clear that probation areas would be allowed to carry over at least 2% of their budget from 2008/09 to the following year. Written by then director of probation Roger Hill, it says: “Consequently, we will try to support the maximum level of under spending” …
Harry Fletcher, from the National Association of Probation Officers, said: “Probation chiefs were encouraged by senior officials at the Ministry of Justice to under spend for contingencies for the next financial year.”
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