Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 407 | 25th September 2015

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In this week's edition....

CLINKS EVENT: Clive's valedictory speech

Clinks will be hosting our 'Just and fair rehabilitation: what does good look like?' conference [1st December, London, £50 for members] and we're inviting bookings exclusively from our members for a limited time only. The event will feature a farewell speech from our outgoing Director Clive Martin, and it will be your first opportunity to hear from our new CEO Anne Fox, along with Prisons' Minister Andrew Selous. Save the date in your diary and register your interest by emailing events@clinks.org or become a member here

CLINKS NEWS: experts recruited to criminal justice leadership board

Clinks, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, has now recruited 14 senior experts from the voluntary sector working in criminal justice to form the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory (RR3) Group's Leadership Board. The Board hold between them a range of knowledge, skills and experience. Details of the successful candidates can be found on our website here

NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR ARTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE NEWS: theatre for positive change

'Our Country's Good - the transforming power of art' is a National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice (NAACJ) and National Theatre event [14th October, London, free for NAACJ members] inspired by the National Theatre's new production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's 'Our Country's Good.' The event will bring together arts organisations, practitioners and academics who work in criminal justice settings, using theatre and the arts to bring about positive change. Join them for a day of discussion and debate, and sharing of practice and performance. For more information and bookings click here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: supporting offenders' children

Barnardo's i-Hop have published a poster and two page briefing on children and families affected by parental offending and how i-HOP can assist Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service professionals to support them. The briefing summarises some of the key outcomes for these families, and highlights the importance of considering children and families in the supervision of offenders. The poster and briefing include direct quotes from families and examples of practice. Download the resources here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: discussing restorative justice

The Community of Restorative Researchers (CoRR) is to host a sub-forum within Restorative Solutions' Restorative Forum. CoRR is a research network open to all persons and organisations involved in restorative practice, including practitioners, policymakers, project managers and participants, as well as researchers, academics and students. Their aim is to highlight evidence that will support the development of best practice and the implementation of restorative services in different types of settings and communities. They are particularly interested in facilitating the participation of researchers in projects in order to define clear markers that will enable performance measurements and the development of evidence-based restorative practice. Join the discussion here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: the impact of education on reoffending rates

The Ministry of Justice has published a Justice Data Lab report assessing the impact on re-offending of grants provided through the Prisoners' Education Trust (PET) to offenders in custody to complete a distance learning course or to purchase learning materials, as well as looking at the reoffending rates of prisoners who were refused such grants. Overall, the analysis shows that participating in an intervention provided by Prisoners' Education Trust led to a reduction in re-offending of between 6 and 8 percentage points. Download the report here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: challenges facing prisons and probation

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has published its Annual Report 2014-2015, looking at the challenges facing prisons and probation, deaths in custody, and complaints received by the Ombudsman. Nigel Newcomen CBE, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, said: "The number of self-inflicted deaths in custody remains unacceptably high and, in 2014–15, there were still 38% more than in 2012–13.” Download the report here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: inspecting probation services

HM Inspectorate of Probation will be undertaking an inspection of early work undertaken by the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies in Walsall and Wolverhampton during the week commencing 2nd November 2015. If you have any queries about this, please contact HMI Probation (Enquiries) mailbox at Enquiries.HMIProb@hmiprobation.gsi.gov.uk

FUNDING: to support victims of domestic abuse

Department for Communities and Local Government has announced a £3million fund to support the victims of domestic abuse, following evidence that victims and their children attempting to leave situations of domestic abuse are being turned away from accommodation-based services with specialist support. The fund aims address any gaps in the provision of specialist accommodation-based support, and provide support for victims seeking to access these services. The fund is now inviting bids for work in 2015 to 2016, led by local authorities working in partnership with service providers. The deadline for bids is 1st October 2015. Find out more here

FUNDING: lasting change in poor and disadvantaged communities

Comic Relief's Local Communities Programme is open to applications from organisations in Sussex, the West of England, North and East Yorkshire, and London's East End. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to charitable organisations for projects which improve people's life skills, education, employability and enterprise, and that advance people's physical and mental health, wellbeing and safety. Projects should be run by people directly affected by the issues being dealt with, and the funding can be used to cover core costs, salaries and project costs. The deadlines for applications vary depending on area, with the next deadline being 28th September. Find out more here

FUNDING: getting people into employment

The European Structural and Investment Fund is inviting applications to run a Solent Community Grants Programme providing Access to Employment. The Programme will support and encourage local communities in creating projects that address exclusion by engaging local people in improving their own lives and that of their areas. The developed programme will provide grants of up to £30,000 for small projects, led by citizens’ groups, and voluntary sector organisations that help people to acquire the skills needed to progress towards employment. Up to £2million is available. Outline application must be made by 9th October. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: for capacity building and trying something new

Ipswich Borough Council’s Community Cash Grants scheme is offering grants of up to £20,000 to voluntary sector organisations in Ipswich. Investment Grants of up to £20,000 are available for running costs or to build capacity to test out a new initiative. Project Grants, of between £5,000 and £20,000, are available to try something new, or for a one-off activity that delivers one or more of the Council’s grants priorities. The priorities for the scheme include: promote community safety; improve health and well-being; and promote learning and skills development. The deadline for applications is 12th October. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: supporting people to become work ready

The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Community Challenge Fund is inviting applications from charities and social enterprises in Norfolk and Suffolk to encourage projects that can actively deliver against targets to help people in the LEP areas to become work ready and in paid employment. Grants of up to £20,000 are available to each area; match funding (either financial or in-kind) of at least £7,000 is also required, and this should ideally be from the private sector. Applicants must be able to demonstrate how their project will meet the target outcomes to support 300 disadvantaged people to become job-ready and 100 disadvantaged people to gain paid employment. The deadline for applications in both LEP areas is 16th October. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: improving long term sustainability

Grants of between £50,000 and £500,000 are available from the Power to Change Initial Grants Programme to help existing community businesses in England that are in a position to significantly improve their long term sustainability within the next six months. The Programme is looking for applications from existing organisations, which already have business plans in place and are ready to start work quickly on their proposals. Organisations must be locally rooted, community controlled, trading, and operated for the benefit of the community. Applicants must be able to explain how their proposal can demonstrate public benefit through the social, economic and environmental impact it will create. The deadline for applications is 22nd October. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: the health of prisoners and their families

'Healthy Inside and Out: understanding the health and well-being of prisoners and their families' is a Sussex Prisoners' Families event [6th November, Brighton, £45] that will investigate the health issues facing prisoners and their families. The event will feature experts on sexual health, women’s imprisonment, health and reoffending, the Listeners’ scheme, a prisoners’ families’ perspective and a presentation on trauma-informed ways of working with prisoners and their families. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: the children and families of offenders

'Supporting Children and Families affected by parental offending in the North East' is a Barnardo's i-Hop event [25th November, Middlesbrough, free] for multi-agency colleagues from the Criminal Justice System, children’s services, family support, health, education and the voluntary sector. It is estimated that two and a half times the number of looked after children are affected by parental imprisonment every year. Increasingly, research evidence points to poorer outcomes for these children resulting from stigma, isolation, health and financial difficulties. The event will feature a keynote address from Professor Adele Jones, leading researcher in international children's rights and well-being. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: papers sought for criminal justice conference

The Howard League for Penal Reform is looking for papers for their event 'Justice and Penal Reform: Re-shaping the penal landscape' [16th - 18th March 2016, Oxford, from £150]. Papers are being sought from policy makers and practitioners working in criminal justice and law, and from academics undertaking research in disciplines including law, criminal justice, philosophy, geography, political science and economics. They will consider theoretical, policy and practice-based contributions. The conference will focus on how real change can be achieved in both practice and policy. Find out more here

PUBLICATION: review of charity funding regulation

NCVO has published the findings of chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington's review into the self-regulation of charity fundraising. The review took evidence from stakeholders in order to identify what changes are required to rebuild public trust in fundraising by charities. It states the current approach to the self-regulation of fundraising is not working, and is unnecessarily complex and badly resourced, and proposes a new approach to fundraising regulation. Download the report here

PUBLICATION: voluntary sector perspectives of TR

NPC have published 'Transforming Rehabilitation: the voluntary sector perspective', a paper summarising a discussion convened by NPC on 9th May 2015 with representatives from voluntary sector organisations that had bid unsuccessfully in the 2014 Transforming Rehabilitation Tier 1 tendering process. It aims to show the perspectives of those involved to better understand the reasons for failure and what can be learned for the future. Download the paper here

PUBLICATION: making multiple and complex needs a priority issue

IPPR have published 'Breaking boundaries: Towards a ‘Troubled Lives’ programme for people facing multiple and complex needs' in which they examine what lessons can be learned from the successes and failures of previous attempts to reform public services for disadvantaged individuals. The report recommends that at the next spending review, the government chooses multiple and complex needs as one of a small number of priority issues for investment in local integration and service transformation, and creates a new 'Troubled Lives' programme, based on the Troubled Families model. Download the report here

RESOURCE: interactive PbR tool

Russell Webster, an independent consultant, has been commissioned by the Oak Foundation to develop an interactive tool that will assist commissioners and providers to decide whether a payment by results (PbR) approach might be an effective approach to commissioning a particular service. The three stages of the project will involve a literature review; consultation workshops for commissioners, providers and service users; and the development and piloting of the tool. Russell is looking for examples of PbR evaluations and research, particularly any 'grey' material not publicly available. If you have examples to share, or want to express an interest in attending a workshop or in piloting the tool, contact solutions@russellwebster.com

RESOURCE: eLearning on violence against women

The Welsh Government has launched an eLearning course on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. This free course, for staff working in the specialist charity sector, forms an integral part of the National Training Framework on violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence; and meets the learning outcomes required for group 1. Find out more here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: There's a 3 for 2 sale on all toys at Argos. Buy three toys and get the cheapest free until 29th September. Details
  • Tip of the week II: A three night stay in Prague is £149pp. Deal includes flights from Manchester, daily breakfast, return transfers, and welcome drink. Details
  • Tip of the week III: Save 50% on tickets to the Write on Kew literary festival at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Details

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