In this month's edition...
Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer at Clinks, met with Dr Jo Farrar, the new Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), to welcome her into her role and discuss how HMPPS can engage strategically with the voluntary sector as HMPPS develops its priorities under its new leadership. Anne promoted the role and value of the voluntary sector across prisons and probation, and we look forward to continuing to advise and support HMPPS.
Clinks held a consultation event to inform our response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s consultation, Tackling homelessness together. We will publish our response in due course, focusing on the role of voluntary organisations and the need for join up across the system with criminal justice organisations.
Clinks responded to the Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into the mental health of men and boys. We focussed on the experiences of men and boys in contact with the criminal justice system, and made a number of recommendations aimed at Ministry of Justice and the Department for Health and Social care. We will publish our submission in due course.
The minutes from the March meeting of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) have been published. The RR3, convened and chaired by Clinks, is a group of senior experts from the voluntary sector, which meets quarterly to provide advice and guidance to officials from the Ministry of Justice and HMPPS.
Home Secretary speech on violent crime Sajid Javid MP, Home Secretary made a speech on the government’s public health approach to tackle violent crime, which aims to ensure services work together to protect young children at risk of violence. Legislation will be introduced that places a legal duty on doctors, teachers and other public sector workers to identify and raise concerns about children at risk of being involved in knife crime. He also committed to giving the police greater powers over the use of stop and search, and although he acknowledged this will be of concern given the disproportionate impact stop and search has on black, Asian and minority ethnic people, he maintained it is a necessary measure that has saved lives.
Prison education and library services for adult prisons in England The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published a Policy Framework that details the minimum mandatory requirements that governors and prison staff must adhere to in the provision of education and library services in adult prisons in England. Clinks and the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance responded to a closed consultation which informed the framework. Our response welcomed the wider aims of the framework to promote education in prisons as a means to unlock potential, build social capital and improve wellbeing, rather than solely focussing on employability and skills. This Policy Framework replaces the previous Prison Service Instruction, and is part of a broader programme by the MoJ to rationalise the complex system of prison policies.
Prison drugs strategy Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) published its new Prison Drugs Strategy. The strategy sets out broadly how government intends to prevent drugs being available in prisons, support people to reduce and avoid drug misuse, and providing the treatment people need to maintain their recovery. The strategy recognises how isolation and boredom contributes to drug misuse, and the importance of purposeful activity, family relationships and peer support in relieving such pressures. It also commits to working through the cross-departmental National Partnership Agreement for Prison Healthcare in England to reduce the impact of substance misuse. The strategy sits alongside the Home Office’s national Drug Strategy (2017) and mirrors the principles of that strategy in restricting supply, reducing demand and building recovery.
Clinks publications
Whole prison, whole person: How a holistic approach can support good mental health in prison This Clinks report sets out how a whole prison approach, which must include voluntary sector organisations, can support good mental health for people, especially those with protected characteristics. It sets out three key principles- respond to the particular needs of individuals, ensure continuity of care throughout a sentence, and create a culture of wellbeing for all- and makes recommendations aimed at the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The report was commissioned by the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance, a partnership between the DHSC, NHS England and Public Health England and 21 national voluntary sector organisations and consortia.
Flexibility is vital: the role and value of the voluntary sector in supporting older people in the criminal justice system This Clinks report sets out the value of voluntary organisations in meeting the needs of older people in contact with the criminal justice system, and finds the strength of voluntary sector provision is in its flexibility – providing approachable, people-centred support, and meeting needs that fall outside statutory criteria. It finds however that the flexible services voluntary organisations deliver are not always with adequate funding, due to difficulties in evaluating outcomes and reluctance of some philanthropic funders to support organisations working with older people convicted of sexual offences. A number of recommendations are made to ensure these services are protected in the context of growing demand.
Clinks' response to the HM Inspectorate of Probation’s statutory consultation on inspection framework and programmes Clinks’ response welcomes HM Inspectorate of Probation’s proposals for thematic inspections on accommodation and mental health, but recommends caution in undertaking a thematic inspection on extremism for the possible unintended consequences of stereotyping Muslim people in the criminal justice system. We suggest a number of topics for additional thematic inspections, including: into the treatment of, and outcomes for, black, Asian and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system; of service user involvement that explores the service user journey through probation services; and on maintaining family ties for women under probation supervision.
Clinks' response to the HM Inspectorate of Probation’s consultation on the inspection of probation providers Clinks’ response recommends that two overarching priorities be embedded into the inspection standards for probation providers: a clear focus on the role of the voluntary sector; and a focus on how probation providers are working to address disproportionality and unequal outcomes with a particular focus on black, Asian, and minority ethnic individuals, women and young adults. We addressed specific questions on unpaid work and the impact of proposals under the current probation reform programme to reduce the number of Community Rehabilitation Companies from 21 to 10, to be co-terminus with National Probation Service areas. We urged the inspectorate to engage with the voluntary sector to monitor the continuity of services during the probation review.
Probation
An inspection of the National Probation Service in Wales Despite some concerns over the shortage of probation officers, and the associated high workloads for some staff, the National Probation Service (NPS) in Wales has been rated Good by HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) and praised for its dynamic, effective leadership. This is the fourth recent inspection of an NPS area, and all were rated good, while all 12 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) recently inspected have been found to be under-performing. These results place further pressure on the Ministry of Justice to reconsider their commitment to maintaining a split between the work of the NPS and CRCs in England under the reformed probation system next year, and instead reunify offender management services under public control, as proposed for Wales.
Prisons
Justice committee: Prison 2020 The Justice Select Committee published its report Prison Population 2022: planning for the future, which is strongly critical of the current situation in prisons, describing it as “an enduring crisis in prison safety and decency”. They call for the government to have a major rethink on the way prisons are used, including a much greater focus on investment in rehabilitative interventions and to consider curbing the use of prison sentences under 12 months. Clinks’ submitted written evidence to the inquiry and Anne Fox, Clinks Chief Executive gave oral evidence to the committee. Our evidence is referenced throughout the report, but we are disappointed not to see a clear recommendation on the role of the voluntary sector in addressing the concerns outlined.
Homelessness
Fixing funding for homelessness services Research by St Mungo’s and Homeless Link shows that local authority spending on homelessness services has reduced by 27% between 2008/9 and 2017/18, an average shortfall of £590m per year. The bulk of the cuts have been made to services for single homeless people, with £1bn less being spent in 2017/2018 than 2009. The report links cuts to a 165% increase in people sleeping rough, a loss of 15,000 places in accommodation projects and a decline in women-only accommodation projects. The research calls for government to shift towards long-term, ring-fenced funding for local authorities. Clinks, alongside Homeless Link and Mind, is a member of the Making Every Adult Matter coalition, which works to improve policy for people facing multiple disadvantage.
Policing
Stop & Scrutinise The Criminal Justice Alliance has published a briefing on improving community scrutiny of stop and search. It recommends improving existing Community Scrutiny Panels (CSPs) to enable more scrutiny of stop and search by the communities most effected by its use. The briefing outlines four key principles for making CSPs stronger and more consistent. They should be independent and empowered; representative; informed; and open and visible. The report recommends that CSPs should to be chaired by a member of the public and have membership that reflects the communities most affected by stop and search, as well as actively engaging young people and the wider community.
Equalities
Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities The Women and Equalities Committee have published a report into the inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities. Clinks submitted written evidence to the inquiry in 2017 and we are pleased our response is referenced in the report. Priorities we raised are reflected in the recommendations, including the need for consistent data on inequalities faced by GRT communities, the need for a strategic approach towards to tackling such inequalities, and a need to address the structural discrimination of public services towards GRT communities. It is disappointing that no recommendation is focused on inequalities faced by GRT communities in contact with the criminal justice system, considering they are disproportionately represented in the system.
Youth justice
Principles and minimum expectations for children deprived of their liberty End Child Imprisonment have published a set of high-level principles and minimum expectations to be applied whenever children are deprived of their liberty, including how decisions are made on whether to deprive a child of their liberty, the process for doing so, and the standards of the accommodation and the care a child should receive in secure settings. Launched in November 2018, End Child Imprisonment campaigns for the closure of England’s child prisons and changes in law to ensure children are only deprived of their liberty as an absolute last resort. Supporters of the campaign include the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Standing Committee for Youth Justice and the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
Youth detention: solitary confinement and restraint The Joint Committee on Human Rights have published a report on solitary confinement and restraint in youth detention. The Committee found that children’s rights are being commonly breached due to unacceptably high rates of restraint and being separated from human contact for too often and too long. The report notes that black, Asian and minority ethnic children are particularly affected, experiencing higher rates of segregation and restraint in custodial settings. The report recommends improvements in data collection for the use of segregation and restraint; more transparency over decision-making when children are separated for a prolonged period of time; and prohibiting the use of specific pain-inducing techniques and restraint for the purposes of ‘discipline and good order’.
Ensuring the voluntary sector’s role in the future probation model Jess Mullen, Clinks’ Head of Policy and Communications writes about the government’s proposed reforms to probation services. She argues that recent evidence, including the collapse of eight Community Rehabilitation Companies, justifies the HM Chief Inspector of Probation’s view that the current probation model is irredeemably flawed. She says the changes currently proposed for the future of probation do not go far enough, and many voluntary organisations will deem the risk in delivering future probation services too great. She outlines Clinks’ five recommendations to ensure the voluntary sector’s future role: simplify the system and reconsider the commitment to contracting out; provide grant funding; tackle inequality; ensure a local response; provide opportunities.
Four months in, how are arts organisations finding the new prison education commissioning tool? Jessica Plant, Director of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA), writes about concerns raised by arts and voluntary organisations about the new commissioning tool for specialist or short-term education services in prisons, the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). She reflects on what the changes might mean for organisations working in prisons and how this might affect opportunities for people in prison. Clinks, NCJAA and Prisoner Learning Alliance want to hear the experiences of voluntary organisations who have delivered education services in prisons in the past, or would like to in the future, about their experiences of the DPS, both positive and negative. Find out how to get in touch in the blog.
How organisations are funded Nicola Drinkwater, Clinks’ Policy Manager, has written a blog on how voluntary organisations working in criminal justice are funded, based on findings from our State of the sector research. The research distinguishes between specialist organisations (whose main purpose is to work in criminal justice) and non- specialist criminal justice organisations (whose service users might include people who have a conviction). Findings show that 25% of specialist criminal justice organisations have an income of less than £100k, compared to 12% of non-specialist criminal justice organisations. The largest source of income continues to be from the government for all organisations, and 95% of government income for specialist criminal justice organisations is through contracts as opposed to grants (5%).
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Written monthly by...
Clinks policy officers, Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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