Member Services
Good Governance

We provide advice, guidance and support to members to enable them to apply the principles and practice of good corporate governance to their role as leaders of local probation services.

We support the principles set out in the Good Governance Standard for Public Services, that is: a focus on organisational purpose and outcomes; clarity about functions and roles; demonstration and promotion of organisational values; taking informed transparent decisions and managing risk; development of governor capacity and capability; and stakeholder engagement and accountability.

High Quality Service Delivery

There is clear research to show a correlation between the lack of good governance and organisational ineffectiveness and decline. Consequently, we promote an holistic approach which recognises the importance of governance in enabling high quality service delivery and good workforce morale. For example, we are playing a central role in the development of a new qualifying framework for probation staff working with offenders.

We help our members to apply the governance arrangements required of boards and trusts by the Ministry of Justice and other Government departments. We also, where required by members, make representations to the Government where we have identified an issue of collective concern to members.

Good Governance and Probation Trusts

The creation of probation trusts requires a review of existing governance arrangements for boards. We continue to play a leading role in defining the most appropriate form of governance to enable trusts to achieve their full potential.

Members of probation trusts are appointed by the Secretary of State on the basis of their wide-ranging experience in fields which impact on offending, such as education, training, health and local government. Their skills are invaluable within a trust environment, forging and strengthening partnerships across organisational boundaries and delivering value for money in reduced reoffending and public protection.

Good Governance practice within NHS trusts has been documented in the report The Healthy NHS Board. Members may find it useful to apply the report to a probation context.