Mark Fairhurst POA chair on how best to spend £4bn wasted by governments

New Secretary of State and Prisons Minister

https://politicsthisweek.wordpress.com/2024/10/10/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-211/

https://www.poauk.org.uk/news-events/news-room/posts/2024/july/circ-052-national-chair-update-july-2024/

Following the result of the General Election Shabana Mahmood MP has been appointed Secretary of State for Justice, whilst James Timpson OBE is now Prisons Minister. On 18 July the General Secretary and I met with both, and discussed many issues including retirement age, the lateness of the pay award, PAVA in the juvenile estate and the restoration of our trade union rights. Although the meeting was very positive, once again, no commitments were forthcoming.

Crime In Prisons

The Crime in Prisons team are looking to set up a working group and produce an FAQ document for members of staff/prison officers who have been victims of assault or other crimes by prisoners and have gone through the court process and their experience of this with any questions or advice they could give to others who may be going through this process themselves.

They are looking for around 3 people per region to get involved in a working group who will meet either weekly or fortnightly. It will be a chance for these members of staff to get together to discuss their experiences and allow any questions to arise out of this for the FAQ document which can then be distributed to all staff for advice and guidance if needed. If you volunteer, we will ask the employer to provide facility time for you to attend meetings.

Please contact Kirsty Walker directly - kirsty.walker1@justice.gov.uk

Judicial Appeal

On 7 April 2022 the Court of Appeal refused the POA permission to appeal against a judgment dismissing a judicial review application. That application argued, among other matters, that the decision announced on 10 December 2020 to reject a recommendation made by Prison Service Pay Review Body (‘PSPRB’) was a breach of article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Following the decision of the Court of Appeal, the POA instructed lawyers to apply to the European Court of Human Rights arguing that there has been a breach of article 11. It is argued that the rejection of a recommendation made by PSPRB meant that there were no adequate safeguards to compensate for the absence of a right to strike. The application has now passed through the initial screening process and the UK Government and the POA have been invited to negotiate a settlement.

All the best.

Mark Fairhurst
National Chair

POA Headquarters
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Membership enquiries: membership@poauk.org.uk