Probation chief: I can do two jobs without children

THE chief inspector of the Probation Service has been criticised by MPS after taking a second job and claiming that she can carry out both roles because she does not have young children.

Dame Glenys Stacey, who is paid £140,000 a year to scrutinise the service, has taken a second two-day-aweek role as head of a review into farm inspections being conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

MPS on the justice select committee said that they were “shocked” by her decision to take a second job and questioned how she could do both at once.

She told MPS: “Of course I don’t have the commitments... a younger woman might have at home. So when the needs arise, for example should I be appearing at a select committee, then I may be doing extra work at the weekends.”

She revealed that balancing both positions does sometimes leave her working long days – despite stepping down from a number of other roles, including her local church council. Dame Glenys, who is in her 60s, added: “But my husband is enjoying the prospect of learning how to cook, so there are some hidden benefits for me at least.”

Bob Neill, the chairman of the committee, said: “I am shocked by what I just heard. Would you like to reflect whether it is really appropriate for you to be doing both jobs at once? We are utterly unconvinced by what you have said.”

Ellie Reeves, a Labour MP, said: “As a member of parliament and a mother of a three-year-old, I think that gives very much the wrong message that women who have young family have less capacity for work.”

Dame Glenys stressed she “considered the matter carefully and the practicalities” before accepting the second job, and that “secretaries of state have agreed it is an appropriate arrangement”. She warned that the Probation Service is not “sustainable” and needs more funding.