John McDonnell says Chris Grayling should be sacked and barred from frontbench amid probation row

John McDonnell has called for Chris Grayling to be sacked from Cabinet and barred from holding another ministerial post amid a row surrounding private probation contracts.



Mr Grayling today found himself in the spotlight after it was revealed that heavily criticised probation service reforms, which he brought forward as Justice Secretary, were to be scrapped.

Ministers are to end agreements with 21 privately-run Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to manage low-risk offenders two years earlier than planned – at a cost of £170m.

It follows the additional £342m ministers were forced to shell out earlier this year to help the CRCs, bringing the total bill for the taxpayer to more than £500m.

The Shadow Chancellor said the now Transport Secretary, who has in recent months faced calls for the sack over rail chaos, had “an abysmal record of failure” as he called for him to stand down.

“Chris Grayling’s disastrous decision to privatise the probation services has left taxpayers with a bill of over half a billion pounds,” he said.

“That’s money that could and should have been used to tackle NHS waiting lists, support cash starved schools and fund care for the elderly and vulnerable.

“As someone who has served as a minster since the Tories came to power in May 2010, Grayling epitomises the incompetence and financial mismanagement of this government.

“By presiding over a series of disasters in different ministerial departments, Grayling has clearly demonstrated that he and the Tories are unfit for office.

“It beggars belief that Grayling remains in charge of the UK’s transport system after such an abysmal record of failure.

“Labour is calling not only for him to be sacked but for him never allowed near a government department again.”

The reforms came under attack last month from the Commons justice committee, who found the probation service was in a “mess” after the reorganisation had failed to reach its aims.

Under the 2014 changes, the supervision of low and medium-risk offenders was delegated to CRCs, while the publicly run National Probation Service (NPS) dealt with the most high-risk offenders.

The multibillion pound contracts were later called into question amid reports that many of the companies were struggling to manage their caseloads with the resources available.

Ministers have vowed to reduce the number of CRCs operating, alongside a series of reforms to create a system of “payment for services delivered”.

'LAUDABLE'

Justice Secretary David Gauke praised Mr Grayling's "laudable" changes, saying reoffending rates had fallen.

"It was an ambitious and innovative reform in terms of transforming rehabilitation,” he said.

"With the experience of the last three years or so it seems to me there are some clear lessons that need to be learned in improving the system.

"But I don't favour excluding the private sector from this at all."

Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon said: "This ideological experiment has been a costly failure, just as Labour warned it would be.”

“This decision to throw more good money after bad and the government's re-commitment to a privately run probation service shows that the Conservatives have run out of all ideas on how to fix their broken system.”