Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 564 | 7th December 2018

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In this week's edition...

CLINKS BLOG: people protected under the Equalities Act

Following the launch of our State of the sector 2018 report last week, this blog focuses on CEO Anne Fox’s reflections on the thematic focus to this year's research on how organisations are working to identify and meet the needs of people with protected characteristics. Overall we found there is inconsistent understanding among voluntary organisations of the needs of people protected under the Equalities Act (2010) and the protected characteristics the act defines. We will use the findings from our research, as well as the contributions from people attending the launch event, to inform our policy priorities and the support we provide to members in the coming year. Read the blog here

CLINKS NEWS: Wales' first minister

Clinks CEO Anne Fox congratulates Mark Drakeford after it was announced he is set to become Wales' next first minister. In her letter to him she will advocate for the role and value of the criminal justice organisations in the Welsh voluntary sector. Mark Drakeford was a probation officer, youth justice worker and helped to establish voluntary organisation Llamau.

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: supporting people with lived experience

New Leaf Initiative would like to hear from leaders with lived experience of the criminal justice system on how they can support them to develop and flourish. New Leaf Initiative is a peer mentoring organisation with a focus on prison industry and employability training and opportunities for prisoners, and former prisoners out in the community. It aims to form a consortium/peer support/referral network. Your responses to its surbey will help New Leaf Initiative to co-design a useful service for people and organisations that support people in the system or affected by it. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: mentors for women

Women’s Centre Cornwall has trained a new cohort of volunteer mentors who will be available to mentor women who have offended, or who may be at risk of offending, across Cornwall and Plymouth, including women with complex needs. They are asking agencies to think about any women they are supporting (or have supported) who may benefit from having a mentor. Women can self-refer or agencies may do this on their behalf. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: resources for older prisoners

RECOOP has re-branded its In-cell Activity Packs as 'Distraction Packs' to better reflect their purpose. Recognising the importance of older prisoners keeping mentally active, they contain quizzes, reading material, puzzles, word searches, health information, poetry, facts about the world and much more. They are available to subscribers at £100 per issue or £1,000 per year (12 issues). If you would like to see a sample copy or require further information, please contact info@recoop.org.uk

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: outstanding youth offending service

HM Inspectorate of Probation has rated Essex Youth Offending Service (YOS) as 'Outstanding'. This is the Inspectorate's highest possible rating and Essex YOS is only the second youth offending service so far to attain the grade. Inspectors were particularly struck by the exceptional work relating to court orders and out-of-court disposals. Download the inspection report here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: equalities annual report

The Ministry of Justice has published HM Prison and Probation Service offender equalities annual report: 2017 to 2018. This report provides statistics on people in prison and in the community and their protected characteristics. Download the report here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: women in criminal justice

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 2017. The bulletin is a compendium of statistics from data sources across the criminal justice system to provide a combined perspective on the typical experiences of people who come into contact with it. Alongside the bulletin, the MoJ has published an infographic to make the key statistics more digestible. Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: probation stakeholder survey

HM Inspectorate of Probation has launched its annual survey to give stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the Inspectorate's work. The survey only takes 10-15 minutes to complete and will help the Inspectorate to improve its performance. Take part in the survey here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: organisation closure

Positive Justice Gloucestershire (PJG) is holding its last committee meeting [10th December at 7:30pm, Stroud] and all are welcome. It is planning its closure due to the retirement of its existing secretary. PJC was set up in 2008 to encourage the use of restorative and therapeutic practices within the criminal justice system, to balance negative representations in the press and raise awareness of positive initiatives, particularly alternatives to imprisonment. The meeting will discuss legacy plans including contributing funds to the production of a play about domestic violence. Anyone wishing to attend the meeting, or support continuation of PJG’s work, should contact Mary Brown on mary.brown@phonecoop.coop

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: Christmas concert

Are you feeling festive? Do you want to support a good cause? New Bridge Foundation is holding its 'Annual Christmas Concert' [13th December, London, £15]. Sandra Rigby-Barrett and The Adventus Domini Choir, featuring Newbold School Children’s Choir, will give an evening of music and seasonal song. For further information please e-mail events@newbridgefoundation.org.uk

CLINKS MEMBER'S TRAINING: playwriting with women

Rewriting Justice is a one-day introductory course from Clean Break [8th February 2019, London, from £59.88] for theatre-artists, early career playwrights and criminal justice professionals with an interest in the specialised field of theatre, women and criminal justice. Through drama and playwriting exercises, group work and discussion, participants will learn creative ideas and exercises for facilitating playwriting; explore best practice when working creatively with adults in vulnerable circumstances; gain confidence and skills for managing challenging situations; and hear insights about working in prisons as a playwright. Find out more here

FUNDING: for women in the criminal justice system

The Ministry of Justice is offering up to £650,000 in resource funding for 2018/19 for investment in female offender services. Expressions of Interests are invited for projects which could benefit from a resource funding grant, and which meet the funding criteria. Projects must be aligned with, and further the aims of, the female offender strategy. Whilst there is no maximum or minimum amount for the funding, preference will be given to bids for grants of at least £50,000. All funding must be spent by 31st March 2019. Please contact cjwst@Justice.gov.uk for more information, and an application form, which should be returned no later than midday on 17th December 2018.

FUNDING: disadvantaged women and girls

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has opened applications to the Tampon Tax Fund. The fund allocates money generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. Charities can now bid for at least £1 million in funding for projects that support victims of domestic violence or work to reduce rough sleeping and homelessness among women. The deadline for applications is 20th January 2019. Find out more here

BLOG: prisoners released homeless

Russell Webster has written a blog which provides detailed information from a freedom of information request submitted to the Ministry of Justice on the numbers of people becoming homeless on release from prison. The data shows that known rates of rough sleeping on release from prison for people sentenced to less than six months has increased by 20 times in the last 18 months. 1000 prisoners a month are released homeless and rough sleeping. Read the blog here

PUBLICATION: floating support and rough sleeping

As part of their Home for Good campaign, St Mungo’s issued freedom of information requests to 135 local areas to learn more about how funding for their floating support services has changed over the past five years. Floating support is provided in people’s homes and helps them manage their tenancy. The research finds there has been a dramatic reduction in funding for these services over the past five years – an average of 18% reduction across England. The funding cuts were even starker at a regional level – there was a reduction of 41% across London and 26% across the South East. Find out more here

FEATURED VACANCY: lived experience leadership

Mind (Mind Cymru and local Minds in Wales) is looking for a freelance consultant to scope its lived experience leadership work [£300 per day, 23 days]. It is looking for an individual, group or organisation who are experts in involvement approaches, ideally with experience of working in the area of mental health and of working in Wales, to undertake consultancy work to develop options for Mind Cymru with regard to its future approach to lived experience leadership. The work will explore how it is currently working, the challenges staff encounter, and an exploration of skill level and staff members' ambition for the work. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Vacancies on the jobs board this week include: Recovery and Community Development Worker with Changing Lives [Scarborough], Criminal Justice Services Team Supervisor with Social Interest Group [London], Receptionist/Administrator with Humankind [Perterlee], Criminal Justice Outreach Support Workers x 2 with CoLab Exeter [Exeter and North Devon], County Lines Outreach Worker with St Giles Trust [London], Fundraising & Corporate Development Manager with Key4Life [London/Bristol], Female Community Keyworker with ADVANCE [London], South East Engagement Team Leader with User Voice [South East], Fundraising Volunteer Internship with Prisoners Abroad [London], and a Switchback Mentor with Switchback [London]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Post your letter today (7th December) to get a free letter from Santa. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Vodafone customers get two Odeon tickets for £7 any day. Details
  • Tip of the week III: Get 10p/litre off fuel at Morrisons with a £50 spend. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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