ANNUAL REPORT 1995-96

8. STAFF AND MANAGEMENT

Organisation

Introduction

8.2 The primary purpose of all inspections is to examine the care of prisoners and the conditions in which they are kept. Nevertheless, comments are offered on management and staff as their organisation, training, efficiency and morale can also greatly affect the quality of life of those who are in custody.

8.3 Management and staff had even more than usual to contend with in 1995-96. The New Staffing Structure (NSS) led to a delayering of the management structure and a move away from grades to roles. In reviewing this major change, consideration should also be given to the fact that NSS took place at a time when either many other new complex initiatives were being introduced simultaneously across the SPS or existing ones further developed. There was a significant decrease in the number of management grades but an overall increase in the number of officers. The prison officer role was subdivided into two levels - one, the Residential group (Band 'D'), being for staff working directly and daily with prisoners and who therefore require a range of skills which enable them to deal with all prisoner groups and a second level, the Operations group (Band 'C'), for those whose duties are primarily of a basic security, escort and supervisory nature, without a rehabilitative responsibility. A performance pay system was further developed for extension to all grades (whereas previously it had only applied to Governors) and a 5% pay rise over two years was also negotiated. Those individuals who were not selected for a new job at the same level during the early stages of the NSS were assured pay protection for up to four years. Savings and improved efficiency as a result of NSS are now beginning to become apparent.

8.4 This transition stage has generated a great deal of anxiety and turbulence amongst staff. Considerable experience was lost when a significant number of long serving staff opted to apply for voluntary early retirement. At the same time, the Human Resources Directorate also faced the daunting task of finding and training the requisite number and quality of new recruits to replace them. Meanwhile, management was often completely embroiled in the detail of these enormous developments, sometimes to the detriment of other issues. Whilst NSS can be said to have been a success so far, we suspect that some of the major ripples and anxieties that it has caused are likely to continue for some time, possibly even for years. A period of consolidation is undoubtedly required.

Management

8.5 Significant changes were also made to the structure of SPS Headquarters in 1995 as a result of NSS. In some areas these measures appear to have improved efficiency and internal communication. Equally, as the year has advanced and turned, it has become noticeable that some, particularly those at Director level and above, seem to be increasingly burdened with work. This is not perhaps surprising, given the large number of initiatives being either launched or implemented across the Service, nevertheless it has impacted at times on the capacity of SPS HQ to monitor and evaluate many of the new projects. Our observations lead us to conclude that the Area Directors in particular may be over-loaded with matters of a routine but nevertheless crucial nature, at the same time as they are driving forward a number of strategic initiatives. On occasions, this is contributing to a log-jam in decision making processes, thereby limiting one of the original objectives of the delayering process. Increasingly, more time also seems to be devoted at this level to growing media interest. An Agency such as SPS must always attach the appropriate importance to public accountability; nevertheless, the sheer magnitude and complexity of what is currently being managed by SPS HQ may not always be fully appreciated or understood by all concerned.

8.6 More immediately, SPS HQ may well have to adjust its complement to include a number of staff in a co-ordinating and advisory role if the welcome range of rehabilitative initiatives which are now occurring in prison establishments are successfully to realise their potential. The need for proper co-ordination of offending behaviour programmes is perhaps the most pressing requirement, with those for sex offenders in greatest need of drawing together. We also see a need for an adviser in education in order to coordinate educational provision and to provide professional guidance on curriculum development, professional standards and cross functional cooperation.

8.7 We also have some concerns for management in a number of prison establishments. The increased empowerment which is being devolved is bringing with it greater accountability, greater need for the exercise of new managerial skills and greater professionalism. However, the overall number of managers has been considerably reduced in some establishments as a result of NSS and those who have been promoted, have not always had either the experience or the time for training and personal development required to meet the new demands. This has left management teams vulnerable, particularly in smaller or medium sized prisons in which the laudable search for efficiencies had perhaps reduced the number of managers below the minimum which is required to get through the work without detriment to its quality, or indeed without cost in terms of workload stress on the remaining managers. All of this leads us to conclude that some structures may have to be re-examined; between 10 and 12 additional managerial posts may be needed as a matter of urgency across the SPS to help redress the balance.

8.8 If effectiveness and efficiency are not to be impaired, we also believe there must be greater emphasis on a structured and long term approach to the training and career development of junior and middle managers. The Individual Management Development Programme has made a good start in this direction, with 18 individuals commencing a training course in March 1996. However, we believe management training and development to be one of the most critical issues for the maintenance and growth of an efficient and effective prison system. This is well recognised by SPS HQ, but one of the recurring problems is that of freeing up enough time and resources for individuals to be properly trained without their absence from routine duties upsetting the operational equilibrium in individual prisons. This problem is of course exacerbated where posts have been reduced in number and particularly where there are high staff sickness levels. A reduction in the latter would help considerably in enabling more training to take place (see paragraphs 8.14-17). Equally, we do not envisage that management training and associated courses need always be of a lengthy nature. A series of short sharp modules could well fit what is required. Even closer attention should also be given to matching the personalities and abilities of management teams, particularly at the Governor and Deputy Governor level.

8.9 Finally, we were concerned that the ever growing burden of paperwork, computerisation, new business practices, managing a huge change agenda and the sheer complexities involved in the running of any modern prison, were discouraging managers at all levels from leaving their offices to walk the job. Stable prisons are very much about leadership, the quality of relationships and effective communication with sometimes unpredictable and disturbed individuals. The need for leadership and daily personal contact with staff and prisoners is of fundamental and ever increasing importance for all Governors and Managers.

Staff

8.10 Recruitment A total of 430 Band 'C' officers completed the four week basic training course at the SPS College last year, or had started work in prisons. They will remain on probation at that rank for the next 2 years, with a further 250 expected next year.

8.11 Staff Turnover A total of 318 members of staff left the SPS last year. The sum of this and recruitment figures indicate an 18% turnover in the overall prison work force.

8.12 Employment/Pay The full impact of reorganising into two officer grades has yet to be measured, nevertheless we are aware of some perceptions as a result of speaking with staff groups. Some Band 'C' officers had begun to feel that they were "second class citizens" and that there was a need for much more comprehensive training than is currently provided. Governors and staff have also highlighted another growing problem, which may have more serious long term effects. This concerns the mobility of the work-force who are now having to react to market forces and move to where vacancies arise. This will have to be carefully monitored, with a means of making more rapid adjustments when necessary, if operational efficiency is not to be distorted. For example, there is perhaps not surprisingly, less interest among officers to work with difficult prisoner populations in long term establishments, when they can exercise choice.

8.13 The basic rate of pay for a newly recruited Prison Officer is £12,500 per annum.

8.14 Staff Training A number of encouraging developments were noted during the year, which included:

The establishment of a new vocational qualification in Custodial Care

The introduction of devolved training budgets to individual prison establishments

The introduction of the Investors In People Initiative at HMPs Peterhead and Greenock (the former being the first in the SPS to obtain accreditation)

The training of over 2,000 individual staff members in the use of SPIN

8.15 However, as in previous years, a great deal of time and money has been invested in staff training though not all of it was perceived by staff to be effective. We found during inspections that training in contact work with prisoners was given less priority than functional training such as in information technology, breathing apparatus and control and restraint - which are inclined to be an easier option when more imaginative and prisoner focused training is really needed. Given the thrust of many of the Service's most central initiatives, it is in the areas of Personal Officer work, interviewing techniques, report writing, Lifer and long term prisoner management, disclosure and groupwork that much more emphasis needs to take place.

8.16 We recognise that the SPS is dedicated to the provision of high standards of training for its staff but we are not sure that value for money is always being obtained. Too often training is planned then cancelled at the last minute for operational reasons as well as because of high staff sickness levels. Time and money is wasted and individuals do not obtain either the skills or the career development they need, or perceive that they need. In fact, we believe that training as presently organised, is over-orientated towards what the individual prison officer thinks he or she will need. We believe it should be based on a skills needs analysis within each establishment, with line managers in consultation with each staff member deciding on the training required to meet both individual and team needs and then ensuring that time is set aside to allow the training and personal development to take place.

8.17 Finally, under this section, we wonder whether four weeks basic recruit training is adequate for the needs of new officers or for the developing needs of the SPS. We accept that further follow up training is provided once individuals get to their establishments, but this can be haphazard or miss the mark (despite SVQ arrangements) and we therefore believe that training must be much more systematic, focused and consistent. We also suggest that Human Resource Managers and Staff Training Officers should wherever possible, be sited together as too often we find the two at either end of a prison, when both roles are wholly complementary to each other.

8.18 Sickness The average number of days lost per person through sickness was still depressingly high last year, being in the order of 17 days for each of the 4,458 members of the SPS work force. This represents a massive drain on resources (a cost of some £7 million per annum), extra work and loss of vital time. These figures are higher than other comparable professions and inexplicably higher than HM Prison Service. Whilst we recognise that stress and sometimes physical injury is part and parcel of daily life in the prison service, we nevertheless believe that these levels can and must be driven down.

8.19 Equal Opportunities All establishments had appointed an Equal Opportunities Officer, though the vigour of Equal Opportunities Committees varied. In general though, we were heartened by progress in this area, with advances continuing to be made in the integration of male and female officer roles. That said, there was regrettably little special provision made for female staff in terms of shower and toilet facilities and this was a continual source of complaint- especially when female officers frequently had to leave their workplace and go some distance for access to toilets. We were pleased to note that two members of ethnic minority communities had been recruited last year but overall, such recruits represent a tiny minority of the overall workforce and efforts should continue to be made to improve recruitment among ethnic minority groups. Some attempts at providing facilities for the disabled had also been made: but large-scale changes to provide these in old Victorian buildings for example, would be prohibitively expensive. The SPS is doing its best with limited resources here, though every effort should be made to undertake gradual adjustments in future.

8.20 Communications Our inspections often revealed that the most efficient prisons were those which encouraged effective reciprocal communication. The prisons in which morale was perceived by staff to be low, were often also criticised for poor communication and for a culture in which listening to others was not greatly valued. The communication problem is particularly difficult for the SPS which has a large work-force in diverse geographical locations, who operate a variety of shift patterns day and night for 365 days in the year. It is not easy to brief the entire work-force simultaneously, for even if prisoners are locked up for this purpose, some staff will always be absent through sickness, annual leave or training. Maintaining a good information flow on even the most basic of subjects in prison is therefore similar to the problem of painting the Forth Bridge; equally, the smallest piece of information - especially in relation to prisoners - may be vital.

8.21 There are no easy answers to this perennial problem and we do not offer simple solutions; rather we recognise that an effective communications strategy at both national and local level is essential if all staff are fully to understand what is expected of them and in turn, are able to contribute their information, ideas and suggestions for the benefit of the Service. We commend both the SPS Bulletin and the SPS News as two good examples of user friendly information sheets - the former idea may well be worthy of replication at a local level. We also welcome the continuing development of SPIN, which should help to streamline data gathering and storage and help to revolutionise communications in every corner of the prison estate. That said, face to face communication remains extremely important and is the best vehicle for reciprocal understanding and for giving and receiving information of all kinds. Good communication is the responsibility of every member of staff.

8.22 Team Work and Coordination Each Inspectorate report on individual establishments last year pointed to a variety of strengths and weaknesses; yet we rarely came across any omissions which could be described as fundamental. Rather, we found that most establishments had all the basic ingredients in place for efficient daily management and development, but what was frequently missing was sufficient emphasis on team work and coordination. Indeed, we occasionally found that Departments could at times be working against each others' interests. This was often the consequence of functional compartmentalisation - ie, a failure in the prison's management structure to provide for formal cross links between groups to ensure effective cooperation. Good coordination does not happen by accident but requires appropriate management training, and the SPS College would be the ideal coordinator for this. There needs to be greater drive to improve this area in all prisons especially now that the management task is becoming increasingly more complex.

8.23 Industrial Relations The Industrial Relations agenda has covered a wide range of issues, many of which were carried over from the introduction of SSR. The SPS-TUS continues to be concerned about staff morale but accepts that it has not declined any further and may even have improved a little. Progress was made in a number of areas including:

Further improvement to staff facilities (although the programme is far from complete).

Local Whitley Committees are up and running at establishments, which both the TUS and Management welcome. Given that all recognised Trades Unions with members at establishments are represented on the local Committees, a far wider range of issues can be discussed and this is of benefit to working relationships and communications.

New or revised policies and procedures on Harassment, Alcohol and Substance Abuse were agreed.

Development of a new Code of Conduct to replace the existing Discipline Code.

8.24 The Trades Unions continue to be concerned about the large number of staff on pay protection and the difficulties there will be for them to secure posts at their substantive pay band. There are also concerns about the new Personal Performance Programme which will be under trial next year (the new system will replace the old Annual Staff Report). This will be used to support the performance pay system and was developed following extensive consultation with staff and Trade Unions.

8.25 Staff Facilities Prison staff no longer live adjacent to prisons in staff quarters and many now travel considerable distances to get to their place of work. Once at work, they are then isolated from the rest of the community, either because the prison is situated away from local shops and facilities or by its fences and walls, or more commonly both. It is most important that Prison staff should have somewhere to relax and to have a meal or a snack during their breaks, particularly because the business of undertaking the difficult task of keeping prisoners in custody, is invariably demanding and frequently stressful.

8.26 As in previous years, we found that there was considerable variation in the standard of facilities being made available to staff. Decent showering facilities were often lacking and toilet facilities were sometimes barely adequate. The general impression created was that staff facilities were something of an afterthought and of comparatively low priority. Almost every locker room inspected was dark, dingy and oppressive. In some establishments, the facilities made available to female staff verged on the contemptuous, even if this was not intended. Some were, however, found to be excellent - for example at Edinburgh and Greenock, and we were particularly impressed with HMP Aberdeen where management had made special corporate arrangements for staff to join a local leisure/health club, in the absence of imminent improvements to staff facilities. Others, such as Peterhead and Polmont were disappointing either because they were cramped or grubby or equipped to minimum standards. Those at HMP Barlinnie, Scotland's largest prison, were amongst the most primitive in the Service. We have, however, seen plans for a new visits and staff facilities complex at HMP Barlinnie which will involve substantial capital sums and is due to be started in the next financial year. In relation to the staff facilities at HMP Peterhead, we also suggested a combined staff and visits complex, but at time of writing, funds are not available to progress the initiative.

8.27 There are optimistic signs that SPS Management has begun to focus its thoughts and limited resources on this vexed problem, which has featured in every one of our recent Annual reports. Some 20 establishments are now sharing a £91,000 boost to improve their facilities in this last year. However, this comparatively large sum when divided into relatively small amounts of money, cannot make a significant impression on the overall problem.

Awards

8.28 A small number of honours and awards were announced for some members of management and staff for work in the previous year. Separately, ordinary work well done in prisons, was recognised by awards from the Butler Trust. Six major awards were made in Scotland last year, including one for the sex offenders' programme at HMP Peterhead. The continuous achievements of staff at HMP Inverness were recognised by the award of a prestigious Charter Mark.