Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 447 | 29th July 2016

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In this week's edition...

CLINKS BRIEFING: prison education review

This Clinks briefing summarises the main themes and recommendations from the Coates review into prison education and includes a timeline for implementation. In September 2015, the then Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove, asked Dame Sally Coates to conduct a review into prison education and to make recommendations for how it could be improved. The review report, published on 18th May 2016, makes 31 recommendations, 17 of which are listed as key. The Government has accepted them all. Download the briefing here

CLINKS BLOG: prison reform and the voluntary sector

Clinks' latest guest blog is by Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of the Prison Reform Trust. Peter is a member of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3), an advisory group to the Ministry of Justice and National Offender Management Service which Clinks chairs and provides the secretariat for. In this blog Peter explores the main themes from a recent RR3 paper on how to engage the voluntary sector in the government’s prison reform programme, and gives his views about some of the potential challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the Criminal Justice System. Read the blog here

CLINKS EVENT: exploring offender health in the North East

‘Exploring offender health in the North East’ is a partnership event [morning of 13th September, Durham, £25] between Clinks and the Prison and Offender Research in Social Care and Health (PORSCH) Network. This half-day conference will bring together the voluntary sector working in offender health along with health professionals, academics and researchers to: provide an overview of the offender health policy landscape; hear about voluntary organisations working in offender health, and examples of research projects involving the voluntary sector; and discuss the challenges organisations and their service users are facing and identify solutions. Find out more and book here

CLINKS EVENT: service user involvement managers network

Clinks is holding a service user involvement managers’ network meeting [afternoon of 13th September, Durham, £25]. The event will give you the chance to share your experiences and expertise in service user involvement, and hear from voluntary sector organisations leading the way in best practice in involving people with lived experience in coproducing services. Meaningful service user involvement requires commitment and resources, and brings many challenges. Come together to celebrate your successes, share your challenges, identify what support you need, and inspire one another to promote and build service user involvement across the voluntary sector working in criminal justice. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: young people in custody

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies' latest 'Prison Service Journal' focuses on young people in custody. The journal explores formal and informal learning in custodial settings for young people, supporting looked after children and care leavers in the Criminal Justice System, improving the management of prisoners with autistic spectrum disorders, and includes an interview with Dame Sally Coates. Download the Journal here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: traumatic brain injury

The Centre for Mental Health has publushed 'Traumatic brain injury and offending: An economic analysis'. The report presents an analysis of the costs of traumatic brain injury, with particular reference to the links between this and offending. The links between traumatic brain injury and offending are significant – 60% of adult offenders have experienced a traumatic brain injury, six times the rate of the general population. It finds that a traumatic brain injury increases the likelihood of offending by at least 50%. Download the report here

VOLUNTARY SECTOR NEWS: charity sector sustainability

The Lords Select Committee on Charities has launched its call for evidence for its inquiry into the charitable sector. The Committee has been set up to investigate the sustainability of the charity sector and the challenges of charity governance. The areas in which the Committee are asking for submissions include: the main pressures currently faced by charities, and the impact these pressures have; the skills required to lead and manage a charity; the role trustees should play in the performance and effectiveness of a charity; and the role of national and local Government with the charitable sector. The submission deadline is 5th September. Clinks will be submitting a response, to contribute your views please email Nathan.Dick@clinks.org. Find out more about the inquiry here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: prison reform inquiry

The Justice Committee has launched an inquiry into the Government programme of reforms to prisons, on the assumption that, as indicated by Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, there will be no substantial change to the programme of reforms to prisons already announced—including the £1.3bn estate modernisation programme, the creation of reform prisons to give prison governors greater autonomy, and the implementation of Dame Sally Coates' education review. They initially seek overall views which will be followed up in greater detail with a series of sub-inquiries following the publication of a White Paper expected in October 2016. The deadline for submissions 30th September. Find out more and submit evdidence here

FUNDING: supporting the prison reform agenda

The National Offender Management Service is inviting expressions of interest from voluntary sector organisations for grants to support innovation across the prison system. The funding is for new services, approaches, or innovations that might be able to support a reformed prison estate. The total value of this grant fund is £1.7m. The minimum grant for individual organisations is £30,000 and the maximum is £150,000. The contract will run from 3rd October 2016 until 30th September 2017. The grants are for activity taking place in the six early adopter reform prisons, and activity may be limited to one prison or cover multiple sites. The closing date for applications is 19th August 2016. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: for community businesses

Grants of between £50,000 and £300,000 are available from the Power to Change - Community Business Fund to help existing locally-based and community-led businesses in England to increase their social impact and make them more viable in the long term. Projects and organisations must be incorporated and share the following four key features: locally rooted; accountable to the local community; trading for the benefit of the local community; and broad community impact. Power to Change will fund up to 75% of revenue costs, up to 75% of the building related capital costs and 100% of other capital costs. The deadline for applications is 31st August. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: supporting victims of crime

Applications for the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's Victims Fund 2016/17 are now open. The fund aims to improve victims' services and maximise the potential of the voluntary and community organisations that support the victims of crime. Funding of up to £15,000 is available for voluntary and community organisations that support victims and helps them cope and recover. Groups can apply as individuals or together as a partnership. The deadline for applications is 9th September. Find out more here

FUNDING: for community projects in Wales

The Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust is open to applications from not-for-profit organisations in Wales that have a remit to serve a region or local authority-wide area. Grants of up to £7,500 are available for projects on the themes of: sport - for volunteer-based projects, particularly from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities; the arts - to give more people the opportunity to enjoy the diversity of performing and visual arts; the environment - for recycling, and developing green spaces; and the community - to tackle social, personal, economic or cultural barriers. The deadline for applications is 9th September. Find out more and apply here

NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS

  • Using the Equality Act 2010 | 1st & 3rd August, London, free | Details

OFFENDER HEALTH: outstanding health and care for everyone

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is inviting voluntary sector organisations working in the Criminal Justice System to share their feedback on local health and care services. This will help them to hold services to account and collect evidence of good practice to encourage others to follow. The CQC monitors and inspects all health and care services in England, both in custody and in the community; and takes action where needed to protect people who use services. People in contact with the Criminal Justice System often have significant health needs, but can face many barriers to getting the care they need. Find out more and share your feedback here

BLOG: proposals to limit housing benefit

Homeless Link's Paul Anderson has blogged about the Government's announcement that there will be no decision on Local Housing Allowance caps or future funding of supported housing until "early in the autumn". In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the government proposed to cap the amount of rent that Housing Benefit will cover in the social sector to the relevant Local Housing Allowance. On Wednesday 20th July, for the second time in two weeks, the House of Commons debated the issue of the future funding of supported housing and the caps, following an Opposition Day motion. The blog covers the positive and negatives in the debate. Read the blog here

CONSULTATION: evidence of commissioning practices

Lloyds Bank Foundation is gathering examples of good and bad commissioning practice. They will use the evidence anonymously to compile a report which will be shared with government and commissioners. They want to know the detail of the processes that are excluding you, whether bidding alone, as part of a coalition or as a subcontractor to a prime provider. What are the specifics of the requirements that are challenging you? What are the conditions that make you unable to bid? How could the process be improved? Complete the survey here

FEATURED VACANCY: Service Manager

EDP is recruiting for a Service Manager [£33,500 - £37,500, full time, HMP Guys Marsh]. EDP is a social enterprise providing substance misuse services within prisons in Devon and Dorset. The post holder will be responsible for the leadership and management of the integrated substance misuse service and will be accountable for the delivery of operational performance outcomes, governance, quality assurance and continuous improvement of the service. The successful candidate will have a sound working knowledge and understanding of prison services and of current substance misuse policy, legislation and evidence based practices including recovery oriented services. The closing date for applications is 4th August. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Job vacancies this week include: an Office Manager at Clean Break [London], Sessional Workers with Nacro [Newbury], ‘Through the Gate’ Support Workers at Nepacs [HMP Northumberland], an Employability Officer for Lincolnshire Action Trust [HMP Lincoln], a Project Co-Ordinator with Hibiscus Initiatives [London] and a Women’s Outreach/Resettlement Worker with Footprints Project [Dorset and South Somerset]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: 100+ free or cheap family activities for the summer holidays. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Get £55-worth of PC games for £1. Money raised goes to charity. Details
  • Tip of the week III: A three night break in Prague is £129pp. Deal includes flights and tours. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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