New Probation Standards To Slash Red Tape

Revised Probation National Standards were published today and will be implemented over the next year. The standards will allow frontline probation staff to manage their work with offenders as the risks of each case demands, using their knowledge and drawing on their professional training and experience. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are committed to allowing frontline staff to better use their judgement and professional skills to cut re-offending and protect the public. Offender managers must be able to focus their work on the most serious offenders, they should not be spending their time on tick-box exercises. The new standards will remove the unnecessary proscription and red tape that restricts frontline decision making.” Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust carried out a Professional Judgement Project pilot to develop a new approach to national standards to improve services. The pilot showed that staff had more purposeful and better focussed contact with offenders when they were allowed to exercise their professional judgement in deciding how to work with each individual.

Scheme Launched To Help Poor Pensioners Manage Energy Bills

New mandatory “Warm Home Discount” scheme worth up to £1.1bn over 4 years has come in to force. Under the new scheme pensioners on Pension Credit Guarantee Credit only will automatically receive annual rebates of at least £120 off their electricity bills, with some support available for other groups too. The scheme is projected to help around two million households per year, with the majority of the rebates delivered by energy suppliers in the winter months. The Warm Home Discount replaces the previous voluntary agreement with energy suppliers which ended in March this year.

Driest March For Years

Provisional Met Office rainfall figures for March indicate that the month is likely to be one of the driest on record, even with rain falling over recent days. The UK average rainfall total from 1 to 29 March was 39.1 mm - 41% of the long-term average for the whole of the month which is 95.9 mm.

This provisional figure makes it the driest March since 1953 when 41.6 mm of rain was recorded. However, this month's figure will increase following the rain which has fallen over the last few days. England and Wales were particularly dry, with provisional figures suggesting the month could be amongst the driest in the past 100 years. Although Northern Ireland and Scotland have been drier than average, provisional figures show the two nations less dry during the month. Many regions within the UK are expected to have had one of their driest March months for a century but with further rainfall being added to monthly totals, this remains unconfirmed.

(BMcN/GK)