In July 2016, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) commissioned Lord Farmer, in partnership with Clinks, to lead a review which investigated how the prison estate across England and Wales could help people in prison to maintain and improve their family and other significant relationships. The review’s final report was published in August 2017 and welcomed by the then Secretary of State for Justice.  

Founding the Families’ Network: 

Fast forward a few years, Clinks – through its work with voluntary organisations supporting families impacted by the criminal justice system – identified a need to develop a network for these organisations. In 2023, we received funding from Porticus, for two years, to do this. The network aims to share learning and aid collaboration. It also aims to increase understanding of the services provided by Network members which can be shared amongst decision makers and commissioners, so that in the long-term, funding available to the sector may be increased. 

Going forward, under the new infrastructure grant, Clinks are delighted to be able to continue its support of the network, under the leadership of Diane Curry OBE. Diane joined Clinks earlier this month, bringing with her over 30 years' experience leading Partners of Prisoners (POPs), set up to support families and significant others of people in custody, on probation or serving a community sentence.   

The role of the network – asks of the Government: 

At the first network forum, over 50 people attended to share learning between organisations and the challenges they were facing. There are now over 130 people in the Families’ Network. We have focused on building and maintaining strong relationships with network members and relevant stakeholders, and conducting robust needs assessments, alongside running a series of events and networking opportunities and sharing good practice.  The change in Government last year gave organisations in the network the chance to reflect on what would really make a difference to families and children affected by the criminal justice system. These have been developed into a number of key asks of the Government, which will form the basis of ongoing influencing work: 

1. Improve support to families and children affected by the CJS, ensuring their needs and wellbeing are supported in the community 

2. Improve support to families and children, where required, to maintain relationships with a parent in prison. 

3. Understand the expertise of, and invest in, the voluntary sector providing services to children and families, to ensure adequate resources are available both in the community and in prisons 

Working with statutory bodies: 

Part of the support that Clinks offers through the Families’ Network is through its extensive engagement with officials and statutory bodies, representing the views of the sector and advocating on its behalf. This includes engagement across a range of forums and commissioning processes, which we provide more detail on, below.  

Family and Significant Other (FASO) contracts: 

In her role coordinating the Network, Diane attends the regular meetings of FASO providers. 

HMPPS currently fund FASO (Family & Significant Other) contracts which provide Visitor Centre and family support within prisons, including family days. The focus of these contracts is to strengthen family ties in relation to reducing reoffending, and as such are not specifically funded to support work undertaken in the community. Although it is the right of the child to see their parents and HMPPS must accommodate this through visits, video calls on evenings and weekends, the potential for additional cross departmental statutory funding is required, to alleviate the sector reliance on Trusts and Foundations to fund the majority of its additional but related services. 

The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3): 

Clinks co-ordinates the RR3 which is a key interface between the MoJ and HMPPS and the voluntary sector. Vicky Baird holds the families’ seat on the RR3 and has over twenty years’ experience supporting children, young people and their families within a number of roles spanning education, youth services, local government, the charity sector and, more recently, the criminal justice system. As a result, she has developed a comprehensive knowledge of best practice, policies and procedures relating to families, with a particular focus on those affected by imprisonment, driving strategic and operational changes at the heart of children and adult services, delivering improvements to processes to bring services together, while ensuring the best possible outcomes for those in need. Vicky’s role on the RR3 is to represent the views of those working with families impacted by the criminal justice system.  

Together with Diane, Vicky regularly meets with nominated officials from the MoJ and HMPPS, representing the views of the sector, raising challenges, and ensuring direct, two-way communication between the voluntary sector and officials. 

Looking ahead:

With Diane in post, we now want to take stock of the Network. In September, we will be holding the next network meeting to introduce Diane and to gather feedback from members to ensure the forum is as effective as possible. Ahead of that meeting, Diane will be reaching out across the network to hear directly from organisations. We are excited for hear from our members and urge all organisations with an interest in the Network to reach out to Diane - diane.curry@clinks.org

Stay tuned (and get in touch)!