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Home  Holyrood magazine
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MSP raises concerns about ‘poaching’ of prison governors |
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Monday, 10 March 2008 |
Questions are being asked about succession planning arrangements in the Scottish Prison Service after the revelation that four governors had left the service in the last three years, leaving four prisons with acting or temporary governors.
Nationalist MSP John Wilson asked a series of parliamentary questions
showing that two governors have left “for other employers” while two
have retired, leaving a situation where in three of Scotland’s jails,
deputy governors are ‘acting up’ in the senior role.
Wilson says he is particularly concerned that private prisons are
‘poaching’ talent from the SPS by offering higher pay and better
conditions.
Former governor of maximum-security HMP Shotts Audrey Park, one of
Scotland’s most experienced governors, has left the service to take
over at the privately-run HMP Addiewell, due to open in January 2009.
“The concern I have is with what could be seen as poaching the best
governors and staff within the SPS, which means pressure is then built
up within the SPS. Recent parliamentary questions I have asked clearly
show that they have what is considered to be an undue high number of
governors who are absent from post.
“So we really need to do in my view, is look at the structure of the
SPS, look at what is happening, because the SPS invests a lot of time
and money in training staff to become depute-governors and governors
and then finds that these staff are poached by the private sector
because the private sector may offer the governor a higher salary,” he
says.
On the issue of succession planning at senior levels of the SPS, chief executive Mike Ewart said:
“Career development and succession planning are managed primarily
through the SPS Senior Assessment Panel which allocates managers in
respect of vacancies, identified development needs and opportunities,
and the individuals’ expressed preferences.”
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