Is the Ministry of Justice fit for purpose? It’s a big question that many people working in probation and family courts ask, but one that Napo’s General Secretary isn’t shy to answer. “The Ministry of Justice has been unfit for purpose, in the view of Napo and its members, for a long, long time now,” Ian says.
In this interview, Ian calls for deep reform of a department he sees as bloated, unaccountable, and increasingly unable to support the staff and services it oversees.
Too bloated and bureaucratic
Ian describes the MoJ as “a bureaucratic entity that seems to have no accountability to the taxpaying public.” Its vast structure has left agencies like HMPPS and Cafcass unable to deliver their core work. “The agencies within it aren’t able to do the work they’re commissioned to undertake,” he says.
He believes the solution lies in a major restructure — potentially breaking up the MoJ into smaller, more accountable departments.
Cafcass is side-lined and struggling
Cafcass, which moved under the MoJ in 2014, has become, in Ian’s words, “forgotten in the machinery.” Leadership within the service is unclear on its future, especially amid a government review of arms-length bodies.
The key issue for staff remains pay. “There’s a failure to reward people adequately,” Ian says. He’s also keeping an eye on the government’s Pathfinder mediation pilot: “We think it will make a big difference… but we want to be sure it’s not just a shortcut to cut waiting lists.”
Probation reunified but still broken
Napo of course welcomed the reunification of probation in 2021, but that disappointingly hasn’t resolved the chaos caused by Transforming Rehabilitation. “Our members are facing more work, more chaos, and feel even less supported than they were by the last Tory government,” Ian says.
Although ministers appear more informed, he cautions, “What we need now is solutions.”
MoJ schemes have little Impact to Reset workloads
Government schemes like Probation Reset and Impact were designed to reduce workloads — but Ian is blunt: “They’ve had limited effect.” Probation staff remain overwhelmed, while political attention stays fixed on prison capacity.
“What politicians need to understand is we have probation capacity issues too,” he says. “If prisons are full, probation is as well.”
This strain is now impacting public safety. “Our members don’t go to work to see people come to harm,” Ian says, but overloaded staff and rushed early release schemes are pushing services to breaking point.
Professionalism at risk… but who should be held responsible?
Ian warns that years of cost-cutting and poor pay are damaging professionalism in both probation and Cafcass. “I wouldn’t say it’s deliberate… but cost-cutting and pay suppression inevitably damage professionalism.”
Meanwhile, inspections repeatedly find services “require improvement,” but there’s little change. “So the question is: if improvements don’t come, who is accountable?”
The Rademaker Review into bullying in HMPPS only adds more to Napo’s view that the MoJ is not doing what it should. “It paints a very bleak picture,” Ian says. “Radical recommendations are coming — but again, I ask: who is going to be held accountable?”
Time for real change
With sentencing and justice reviews looming, Ian sees a rare chance to push for meaningful change. “We believe we stand a better chance of seeing probation brought outside of the organisation under this government.”
But change needs to go beyond management reshuffles and actually deliver something more than “just the deckchairs being rearranged by senior management.”
When the MoJ isn’t living up to expectations, its not just a policy problem, it’s a threat to public safety, to justice, and to the people doing the work every day.
Napo will keep challenging failure, calling out complacency and fighting for a justice system that lives up to its name.
If you are with us speak up, share this article and help us push for the system we all deserve.
