Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 569 | 25th January 2019

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In this week's edition...

CLINKS NEWS: contribute to a book

Clinks and the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) are seeking responses to the question, “What should happen to people who commit criminal offences?” We are seeking contributions for a book of differing, contrasting and contrary viewpoints. The book is part of the work of the Monument Fellowship - working together over six years to create a legacy for the criminal justice work of the Monument Trust. Contributors can either provide the piece themselves or be interviewed by CEO Anne Fox or a colleague from Clinks. If you would like to be considered, or want to nominate someone else, please send up to 500 words, headed “Monument Fellowship question” describing what you’d aim to cover, to anne.fox@clinks.org by 31st January.

CLINKS NEWS: addressing race disparity

As part of the Ministry of Justice commitment to share the work it is doing to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, it has begun to produce an informal stakeholder newsletter sharing updates and news on its work. This newsletter will be sent out on a quarterly basis. Clinks is supporting the Ministry of Justice to share this newsletter with the voluntary sector. Read the newsletter here (PDF). Sign up to receive future newsletters by emailing your name, organisation and email address to Race_and_Ethnicity@justice.gov.uk

CLINKS NEWS: women’s networking forum

Clinks, with support from Agenda, held the latest 'Women’s networking forum' in Liverpool. The group received a presentation prepared by the Ministry of Justice on the national concordat announced in the Female Offender Strategy and then discussed the proposals. The group discussed how sign up for the concordat will be encouraged and accountability for signatories on its commitments; how to localise the concordat effectively; the role of the voluntary sector; and its potential to encourage more collaboration within the voluntary sector. Clare Jones, an independent consultant, also gave a presentation on shared purpose commissioning which discussed the barriers to integrated commissioning and potential opportunities on the horizon. Full notes from the meeting are available here

CLINKS OPPORTUNITY: impact assessment

Clinks is looking for an organisation or consultant to carry out an impact assessment of our work. The work will assess the full range of activities and services that Clinks offers. The purpose of the evaluation is to check we are providing the right services and that they are of a good standard, to help us develop our work and to enable us to give more informed feedback about the difference that Clinks makes to the voluntary sector and our other stakeholders. The closing date for applications will be Wednesday 13th February. Interviews will take place on Thursday 28th February at Clinks' office in London. If you are interested in undertaking the work, please contact richard.nicholls@clinks.org for an evaluation brief.

CLINKS MEMBERS NEWS: routes to change

This article from Pact’s CEO, Andy Keen-Downs, discusses its newly launched Routes 2 Change strategic partnership between Pact, HMP Brixton and Porticus. This service will deliver an end to end integrated rehabilitation and resettlement support programme to prisoners and their children and families. He looks at the history of Pact and how it has used the recommendations of the Farmer Review to develop this service. He writes: “Over the next two years, we aim to be sharing our learning as we go, with HM Prison and Probation Service and voluntary sector colleagues […] Like so many great charities and voluntary groups, we have a clear philosophy behind what we do. Our focus is, and has always been, on what it means to be a human being.” Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: art awards now open

The 2019 Koestler Awards are open for entries. The annual Koestler Awards offer cash awards, written feedback, certificates, mentoring, publication, exhibition and sale opportunities to people in custody. The Awards can give a creative outlet and recognition for a broad range of creative work. Every entrant to the Awards is in with a chance for being selected for the Koestler Trust’s annual exhibition at Southbank Centre. Last year’s show was curated by relatives of prisoners who explored the impact of imprisonment on families through their selections. This September the Koestler Trust team is working with a (soon to be announced) musician to select the works. The deadline is 4th April. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: two charities to merge

Health and social care charity Humankind and alcohol and drug charity Blenheim CDP have confirmed that they will merge in April 2019. The merged organisation, which will be named Humankind and employ over 1,100 staff, will build upon the charities' commitment to pursue their vision for people of all ages to be safe, building ambitions for the future and reaching towards their full potential. Eric Feltin, Chair of the Board of Trustee at Blenheim CDP, said: “By coming together, our joint organisation will have much greater reach to deliver this best practice and have the resources to drive further innovation, developing more compelling services as a result.” Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: arts in prison recognised

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recognised the value of arts in prisons in a speech announcing the winners of the Cultural Development Fund. Speaking on the ‘Value of Culture’ Jeremy Wright MP spoke of his time as prisons minister and the change he saw when people in criminal justice settings engaged in creative activity. He said: “I came across offenders who painted, sculpted and even sang opera as part of their rehabilitation. And in many cases it worked […] because those things provided an outlet, they offered a sometimes new experience of excelling at something, and for some, indicated a lawful way to make a living.” Read the speech here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: domestic abuse consultation

The government has published its response to the domestic abuse consultation, which Clinks submitted a response to, alongside the draft Domestic Abuse Bill. We welcome the recognition around the link between domestic abuse and experiences of multiple disadvantage, offending, and drug use; and the need for holistic, wrap-around support to meet women’s needs. The document reiterates the commitments previously made in the Female Offender Strategy, published by the Ministry of Justice, including the development of the concordat for female offenders and supporting the roll out of trauma-informed training for probation and prison staff to meet the needs of women with a conviction who have experienced domestic abuse. Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: management of people with sexual convictions

HM Inspectorate of Probation has published Management and supervision of men convicted of sexual offences. The report finds that significant improvements are needed to ensure people who commit sexual offences are managed effectively in prison and in the community. Inspectors found that: much of the work delivered in custody is poor; the National Probation Service is not doing any work to address the sexual offending behaviour of four in 10 people with sexual convictions on probation; in one in three inspected cases, not enough was done to protect children; and assessments were not completed to a good standard in a third of inspected cases, and were sometimes seen by staff as a box to tick. Find out more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: developing residential women's centres

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) would like to speak to women with lived experience of the criminal justice system to help inform the development of the residential women’s centres announced in the Female Offender Strategy. They would like to speak to 15 women from diverse backgrounds, who are on the cusp of custody, as well as those who have served a sentence of under 12 months. The MoJ would like to hold the interviews by the 8th February. Please contact huu.chu@digital.justice.gov.uk for more information or if you are able to support this work.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: supporting Welsh women

The Commission on Justice in Wales is consulting on how the criminal justice system in Wales can respond to the needs of women. Its 10 questions for voluntary organisations include: what are the key elements of an effective justice system for women; how do you think co-operation between the government, local government and voluntary organisations could be improved to provide a more seamless delivery and better outcomes; and what preventative work could be done with women in Wales who are at risk of entering the justice system? Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer of Clinks is giving oral evidence to the Commission in February. Please contact JusticeCommission@gov.wales for a copy of all of the questions and to respond. The deadline for responses is 1st April.

FUNDING: core costs and direct delivery

Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Invest funding programme is now open for applications. Invest grants provide long-term funding for the day-to-day running of organisations, and/or the direct delivery of the organisation's work. Grants are from a minimum of £30,000 to a maximum of £100,000, delivered across three years. There is also the opportunity for continuation funding, so charities could be funded by the Invest grant for up to six years in total. It funds charities with a strong track record of working to rehabilitate people with convictions, amongst other funding streams. The deadline to apply is 8th February. Find out more here

FUNDING: young disadvantaged people

Scott Bader Commonwealth Ltd has opened the Central Fund which offers grants of up to £25,000 annually to support two to four large, community-based projects to help young or disadvantaged people. Priority will be given to charities near Northamptonshire. The deadline to apply is 8th February. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: entrepreneurship course

Grow Inspires is looking for budding entrepreneurs. It has secured funding from the Big Lottery to run its Project Phoenix From Offender to Entrepreneur course [Dates in April, Bristol, free] following a successful pilot. The course is suitable for anyone wishing to set up their own business or who is running their own business but needs help, or, anyone wanting to become self-employed. To book places contact mark@growinspires.org

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: conflict resolution

Peace Partners is holding ‘Waves of Change - Waves of Peace’, a day of workshops [23rd February, Croydon, £25]. Each workshop will cover different themes which will include: Peace education based upon topics such as empowerment, inner strength and choice; reading groups based upon reflection and re-discovery; and conflict resolution and solutions. It aims to bring together organisations and the community to collaborate and discover unique and practical solutions, to pool resources and expertise, in an effort to promote social change for youths in conflict situations, the vulnerable, and those desiring a change towards peace. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: staging women's experiences

Clean Break and Royal Court Theatre are performing 'Inside Bitch' [23rd February – 23rd March, London, from £12]. A devised ensemble performance by Clean Break members, 'Inside Bitch' is a playful subversion of the representation of women in prison and looks at how things aren’t quite as seen on TV. Find out more and book here

FEATURED VACANCY: full team wanted

Pact is hiring a full team for a new project called Routes to Change. These roles are all based in HMP Brixton: Therapeutic Play and Children's Advocacy Specialist [£26,000, full time]; Family Befriending Coordinator [£25,000, part time]; Family Resettlement Practitioner X two posts [£25,000, full time]; Family Resettlement Team Leader x two posts [£27,000, full time]; Data and Administration Coordinator [£24,000, part time]; and a Family Services Programme Manager [£32,000, full time]. Adopting a whole family approach, this service will deliver an end to end integrated rehabilitation and resettlement support programme to prisoners and their children and families from the first night in custody to six months following release from prison. Working closely with the prison and other agencies, the service will be fully integrated into sentence and release planning. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Vacancies on the jobs board this week include: A Management Accountant with ADVANCE [Hammersmith], SOS Caseworker with St Giles Trust [Islington], Training Facilitator with Changing Lives [Team Valley], South East Engagement Team Leader with User Voice [Surrey], a Lecturer in Cleaning with Weston College [HMP Erlestoke], Young People's Drug and Alcohol Education Worker with Humankind [various], Case Manager with Achieve North West Connect [Manchester], Key Worker with Treasures Foundation [Newham], CSE Practitioner (Supported accommodation) with The Magdalene Group [Norfolk] and a Women's Community Support Worker with The Footprints Project [Working from home across Dorset]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Get money off vegan meals for Veganuary at participating vendors. Details
  • Tip of the week II: Free £20 eye test at Optical Express. Details
  • Tip of the week III: Three- seven night all-inclusive stay in Croatia with return flights from £149. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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