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Northumbria Probation Trust Board is the employer and has overall responsibility for the organisation. Its principle functions are to set the strategic direction for the trust and to exercise effective oversight and management.
The board is accountable to the Secretary of State for Justice and our local communities. It promotes a culture of high trust coupled with a clear drive to deliver continuous improvement. Robust performance management for the delivery of offender and victim focussed outcomes are central to the Board’s ethos. The Board operates with openness, dignity and respect, working in partnership to deliver improvement for the people of Northumbria. The Board is committed to reducing inequality and supporting wider issues of diversity. It is also committed to involving the people of Northumbria in its decision-making processes. The board ensures that these areas are adequately reflected in all its proposals and strategies.
Northumbria achieved trust status with effect from 1 April 2010, building on the successes already achieved within the area in the delivery of probation services. The trust is part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), but operates as a non-departmental public body.
One of only two probation trusts in the North East, Northumbria Probation Trust is responsible for all services delivered to offenders under probation supervision. This includes offenders subject to community orders and released from prison on licence.
As a trust, we are now able to work even more efficiently and effectively to make sure probation services are delivered in a way which matches local need and cuts crime.
The board has a particular role in ensuring that local probation services represent good value for money and that high performance standards are met. The board is also the employer for our 650 staff.
The board comprises 7 members, including the appointed chair, chief executive and other non-executive members. Members are recruited from local communities and bring with them a range of skills coupled with a broad range of experience from the public, private and voluntary & community sectors.
| Lesley Bessant | Lesley is the chair of the board. Her background has been spent almost entirely in the public sector, and most of it in local government. She spent seven years with Newcastle City Council and then moved to Gateshead Council, as assistant chief executive, helping to develop the council's response to the government's improvement agenda. She has also worked as a policy advisor to the police authority, giving her some insight into the complexities of the criminal justice system. |
| Nick Hall | As acting chief executive, Nick is responsible for the overall operational and strategic direction of the trust. Nick Hall joined Northumbria Probation Area in 2005 as director of people management and OD. He then went on to hold the roles of director of resources and deputy chief executive. Before joining probation, Nick was head of HR at the North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust. Prior to that he worked for 15 years in local government with North Tyneside Council in various roles. |
| Norman Gilberg | Norman is an executive coach and senior lecturer at Northumbria University Business School; he was an associate at the university until March 2008. He was also for many years with Northumbria Police, his later roles included area commander, head of personnel and detective chief superintendent and head of professional standards. |
| Janet Guy | Janet is an independent member of Northumbria Police Authority and a lead member for diversity. She is a qualified solicitor, who practiced in Northumberland and Tyneside in the areas of criminal and family law, as well as in wills, probate and trusts. She was a non-executive director of Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health NHS Trust. She has been a school governor and worked with charities such as CAB, a medical research charity and hospice. She chairs the audit committee in addition to her board duties. |
| Julia Hickey | Julia has a degree in maths with statistics and is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Julia brings to Northumbria Probation Trust her wide range of experience in governance of a number of bodies. She has been chair of a board of school governors, where she also chaired the finance committee. For a number of years she was a board member for the housing operations division of Home Group and was a member of the Group Audit Committee. She is also a non-executive director of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust and chairs the Audit Committee of the trust. |
| Peter Hillman | Peter is currently the treasurer and buildings officer at Seaton Delaval and Holywell Community Association and chair of governors at Seaton Valley Federation. Previous to this he was leader of Northumberland County Council. Prior to becoming leader, he was portfolio holder for community services and chairman of the public protection committee. He was also community engagement coordinator at the council implementing the community engagement strategy to reduce local concentrations of worklessness. Peter has also been a member of Newcastle International Airport Board, the Northern Arts Board, a member of the Lord Chancellors Advisory panel and school governor at Seaton Deleval and Astley Community High School. |
| Marion Talbot | Marion has a degree in history from the University of London as well as a post graduate certificate in education. Marion's background is in performance management working for the Audit Commission. For a number of years she was the Audit Commission's regional lead for community safety. More recently, she took on the role of comprehensive area assessment lead with the Audit Commission. This involved delivering comprehensive area assessments for public services across Durham and Northumberland. Marion therefore brings with her a wide ranging knowledge of performance management and improvement in the public sector and in particular public sector bodies involved in community safety. She also has a key interest in value for money. Marion is also a member of the board of trustees of the Cyrenians with whom Northumbria Probation Trust has a number of links. |
Board meetings are held at our head office in Newcastle upon Tyne. They are open to the public for all except the confidential items. Dates for 2011/12 are:
Board minutes are available here for the past 12 months. If you require
minutes of previous meetings, please contact us
to request them.
November
2011
October
2011
September
2011
August
2011
June
2011
May
2011
Early
May 2011
March
2011
February
2011
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