Normally when you see those two words together on a website it will be
a reference to railway franchises. If it is a local website
it will likely be From The Murky Depths.
However what is less likely to be reported by Mr. Murky is The Probation
Service and Chris Grayling’s involvement with it. Privatised by The Grayling Failure in May 2014 and an unmitigated
disaster over the subsequent five years.
Now it is going back into Public Ownership.
Who could possible have foreseen that?
Well plenty actually. The late Councillor Mike Slaughter listened to Grayling’s plan in
October 2013 and like me thought it was “gobbledegook”. Councillor Alan Downing
admitted to not understanding it.
Councillor Val Clark said that privatisation was “change for changes’ sake”.
Six month’s earlier Bexley Council had invited Rob Clark, a senior Probation
Service employee, to address them and heard him say that in future offenders would merely attend
the probation service premises, put their thumb on a £25,000 print reader to
prove they had been there and turn round and walk out again. No use whatever and
he was not a happy man. Councillors Philip Read, Nigel Betts and Brenda Langstead all thought it looked like a waste of time and money.
It was obvious well before Grayling imposed the mad scheme on his obviously
sceptical staff that it was doomed to fail. Bexley Councillors from both sides of
the political divide could see it coming but not the £100,000 Chris Grayling.
Source blogs.
April 2013.
October 2013.
February 2014.