Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 400 | 31st July 2015

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In this week's edition....

CLINKS ANNOUNCEMENT: we've appointed a new CEO

Clinks’ Chair of Trustees, Dame Anne Owers, has announced the appointment of Anne Fox as the new Chief Executive Officer of Clinks. Dame Anne said: "Anne is currently Director of the Communication Trust, a coalition of voluntary sector organisations supporting children and young people with communication needs, working across education, health and social care. She has a real understanding of the challenges faced by those service users and the voluntary sector organisations that support and work with them, as well as experience of advocating on their behalf to government and the public. I know that you will want to join me and the Trustees and staff in welcoming and supporting her in her new role." Anne will be joining Clinks in mid-October, to have a period of handover, working alongside Clive Martin until the end of the year. Read the full announcement here

CLINKS OFFER: a free days' consultancy

To celebrate the 400th edition of Light Lunch, we’re offering one Clinks member a free days’ consultancy with a consultant from our directory. Clinks associate consultant members all have experience working with voluntary sector organisations in the Criminal Justice System. Take a look through the directory, then email joe.gardham@clinks.org with a paragraph on your consultancy support needs. The winner will be selected at random at the end of August.

CLINKS GUEST BLOG: relying on the voluntary sector

In this Clinks Guest Blog, Christopher Stacey from Clinks member Unlock shares his thoughts on the challenges that are emerging from the changing relationship between the voluntary sector and probation service provision. Christopher says: "Rather than recognising the ‘added-value’ that charities can provide, the embedding of charities as ‘core’ providers of services is having a knock-on effect for those that aren’t ‘providers’ in the same way. The idea of probation services ‘referring’ clients to voluntary sector agencies, when there’s no formal arrangement in place, raises a number of questions. How can charities like Unlock work with probation providers given the current direction of travel? How can probation providers work with charities like Unlock?" Read Christopher's guest blog here

CLINKS REQUEST: last chance to submit evidence for the Care Quality Commission

Thank you to everyone who has already sent us feedback about the health and care services for offenders in Greater London or Yorkshire and Humber. If you’ve not already done so, the deadline is Friday 7th August, so there is just one week left to respond. Clinks are gathering evidence for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about the experiences of offenders and their families using healthcare services. They want to hear about individual stories of good or bad care, and any common issues you have picked up on with healthcare services in your area. Your feedback will help CQC’s inspectors decide when to inspect a service, what to look out for and what questions to ask to make sure any issues are being addressed. Share your feedback and find out more about the project here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: vote to support children with a parent in prison

Nepacs has reached the final 10 in the Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation £10,000 Goalden Giveaway. The charity receiving the most votes will receive £2,500 together with a visit from two Middlesbrough FC first team stars. The rest of the shortlisted charities share the remainder of the pot. Please vote now for Nepacs; the more votes, the bigger the share of the pot they will receive to help go towards toys, activities, play areas and special family visits for children who have a parent in prison. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: London Liaison and Diversion service wins national award

Together for Mental Wellbeing has been presented with the Liaison and Diversion award at the The Howard League for Penal Reform’s Community Awards ceremony. The awards celebrate projects across England and Wales that help keep people out of the Criminal Justice System. Together for Mental Wellbeing run the North and North East London Liaison and Diversion trial site, which was recognised for its commitment to helping people tackle the underlying causes of their offending, and thus reducing the likelihood of reoffending. The trial site is run in partnership with Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust and North East London NHS Foundation Trust. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: no economic recovery for the voluntary sector

The results are in from NCVO's 12-month review into the voluntary sector's funding, showing there's been no economic recovery for charities. The results show that: while the rest of the economy has grown, the sector's income has flat-lined; charities face a £4.6bn shortfall in income by 2018/19; small and medium-sized organisations have been hardest hit; charities have innovated to earn income from individuals; and a 'capacity crunch' is limiting their ability to access funds. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: office space to rent in London

Centre for Crime and Justice Studies have a self-contained, air-conditioned, ground floor office space for rent [Vauxhall, London] with use of shared kitchen and toilets and a heavily discounted rate for use of their meeting room. The space is available from April 2016, and covers 54m2. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: challenging legal aid cuts

The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS) have won the right to challenge legal aid cuts for prisoners after the Court of Appeal ruled there was a risk that the system could be unfair and unlawful. The two charities have been inundated with requests for help from children and prisoners since the cuts were introduced in December 2013. Unlike other cuts to legal aid, where a safety net was introduced to allow people to apply for legal aid in exceptional circumstances, the cuts for prisoners were absolute: there is no lifeline for even the most vulnerable or incapacitated prisoner to apply for legal aid for prison law matters. Read the full news release here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: inquiry into young adults in the CJS

The House of Commons Justice Select Committee announced last week a major inquiry on young adults in the Criminal Justice System. The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) coalition said: "This is a once in a generation opportunity for the young adult agenda to progress towards a systematic implementation. It comes at a critical time for the future of the T2A agenda with the convergence of several major recent developments including: The Harris Review on deaths of young adults in custody that called for young adults to be a distinct group and for the concept of maturity to be enshrined in law (and a forthcoming government response); The HMIP annual report that called for a distinct approach to young adults; and the government's requirement to reduce costs and utilise evidence of what works." Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: consultation on Victims' Code

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are running a consultation on changes to the Victims’ Code. The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the “Victims’ Code”) sets out the support and information that victims of crime are entitled to receive. It is central to the MoJ's strategy for transposing the EU Victims’ Directive (2012/29/EU) which establishes minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime across the EU, and which comes into force on 16th November 2015. MoJ are seeking your views on some technical changes they propose to make to the Victims’ Code to ensure compliance with the Directive. The deadline for responses is 16th August. Have your say here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: tackling the ethnic penalty

'What do young black Londoners think about the ethnic penalty?' is a Centre for Crime and Justice Studies event [3rd September, 6.30pm, London, donations]. Since 2014, the Centre has been developing its ideas about how the ethnic penalty impacts on the lives of black and minority ethnic people living in Britain. The ethnic penalty refers to the disadvantages that lead to a minority ethnic group faring less well than similarly placed ‘majority’ white people across a wide variety of social and economic life. Find out more and request an invite here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: shaping future resettlement services

'The Road to Resettlement: Paving the way to reducing reoffending' is a NoOffence! event [22nd September, Newbold Revel, from £50] that will focus on shaping future services towards an evidence-based ‘what works best’ approach. "There is a growing and significant need to provide effective resettlement services developed from research. Suitable planning is essential and should utilise available research and evidence to achieve effective delivery of required services. A ‘one size fits all’ simply doesn’t work; with evidence suggesting it is necessary to provide tailored services to meet the particular needs of individuals. So how can we all achieve this?" Find out more and book your place here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: supporting ex-offenders into self-employment

Metanoeo CIC are launching the Metanoeo Guild [28th September, Liverpool, free] that will share how you can support others to become self-employed social entrepreneurs and to help faith and community groups transform the lives of people who have been involved with offending. This event is suitable for: Individuals wanting to develop their own self-employed social enterprise as part of the Metanoeo Guild; Well-being practitioners, counsellors, therapists and life coaches who already have their own practice but are interested in becoming part of the Metanoeo Guild; Community and faith groups wanting to develop peer coaching hubs to support change in their community; and Commercial organisations who want to be involved in partnering with Guild members to support their service users or staff through life coaching. Find out more and book your place here

NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS & TRAINING

  • 'Consultation: Are you a grandparent with a son/daughter in prison?' | 10th September, Leeds | Email for details

PUBLICATION: gang involvement and missing young people

'Running the Risks: the links between gang-involvement and young people going missing' is a new report by Catch22 that explores the link between gang-involvement and going missing, highlighting a group of young people who are rarely reported and often misunderstood. It examines the extent to which the experiences and needs of this group are distinct and present specific challenges for the provision of support. This new report provides a framework for understanding some of the key links between gang-involvement and running away from home, focusing on issues such as the illegal drugs market, child sexual exploitation and the care system. Download the report here

PUBLICATION: how is education linked to prison?

'Does school prepare men for prison?' is a blog post by Dr. Karen Graham that makes the case for challenging routine punitive disciplinary practices in schools. Dr. Graham says: "How is education linked to prison? Research (and perhaps common sense) tells us that a large percentage of inmates in UK prisons have below average levels of educational qualifications. They may also lack the communication skills, social networks and confidence that increase the chances of gaining and maintaining regular employment. They are therefore more likely to earn money through the alternative economies of illegal activity, which in turn increases the likelihood that they will spend time in prison. Prison reformers and prisoner advocates therefore call for better education opportunities in prisons, as an essential ingredient to reversing the very high rate of post-prison sentence recidivism." Read the full article here

PUBLICATION: socio-economic status and employment

'Downward Mobility, Opportunity Hoarding and the Glass Floor' is a new report that finds that within high and low attainment groups, children from families with higher incomes or more advantaged social class backgrounds have a greater chance of being highly successful in the labour market than their less advantaged peers. The evidence points to the existence of 'opportunity hoarding' or a 'glass floor', which to some extent protects children born to affluent families from downward mobility, even when evidence on their skills would predict that they should occupy a lower socio-economic position. Download the report here

OPPORTUNITY: participants required for research on ex-prisoners in higher education

David Honeywell, Sociology Department, University of York is carrying out a study into the impact of higher education on those in prison; with the full support of the Prisoners’ Education Trust. David says: "I am looking for male and female volunteers to take part in this study which is focusing on ex-prisoners in Higher Education; the barriers and opportunities experienced by learners and how education has helped them develop new identities." To be included in this research you need to be aged 18 or over, have been or are studying in Higher Education, and been guilty of an offence for which you have served a prison sentence. As a participant in this study, you will be asked to take part in a one to one interview, lasting, approximately 60 minutes either in person or over the phone. In appreciation of your time, you will receive £15 and also reasonable travel expenses. For more information email dmh517@york.ac.uk

RESOURCE: network for women in prison researchers

Helen Crewe, a post-graduate researcher with Leeds University, has set up a Facebook group for PhD researchers for women in prison to discuss relevant issues. Get involved here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Vacancies this week include: a Trustee at Women in Prison [North London], an Administrative Assistant at Anglia Care Trust [Ipswich], a Group Development Worker [Wakefield & Barnsley], Head of Dedicated Services, and an Outreach Counsellor & Group Development Lead [Wakefield] at Well Women Centre, a Man Up Coordinator at Safe Ground [Wakefield], a National Criminal Justice Development Manager at Together for Mental Wellbeing [London or home based], 2 x Key Workers (female) at The Nelson Trust [Swindon], 2 x Offender Health Skills Facilitators at Bridging the Gap [York]. For further information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Over 100 tips of cheap or free things to do with the kids this summer holidays. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Download a free adult colouring sheet. Details
  • Tip of the week III: If your train is delayed by more than 30 minutes (15 minutes on the Tube) you can apply for a refund. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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