Understanding the political context within which the sector is operating:

This is the first in our series of blogs previewing State of the Sector 2025, in which we explore what we heard regarding the political context within which the sector is operating.

It is important to emphasise that the delivery of frontline services does not operate in a vacuum. It is impacted by any given Government, with funding contingent on political priorities and the development and implementation of subsequent policy proposals.

Voluntary organisations also operate within the broader parameters of political and policy context. In the criminal justice space, public opinion and media narratives have a particular impact on the wider context given the resulting impact on government policy.

Cautious optimism tempered by increased demands on the sector:

Our focus groups were held at a time when the proposed Sentencing Bill was going through Parliament. There was cautious optimism regarding the Bill and its potential to positively reform the criminal justice system, in addition to more cautious optimism regarding the establishment of the Women’s Justice Board.

This optimism was tempered by concerns about the Sentencing Act’s implementation given that many of its provisions will increase demand on voluntary services, particularly in the community. Only approximately half of our survey respondents agreed that they would be able to cope with associated increased demand, with many respondents commenting that they could only do so if additional funding was provided. As one participant told us: “we need additional funding to cope with the increased demand as our services are already stretched to the limits.” Another noted: “as a voluntary sector organisation, we do our very best to meet demand. However, the sector needs to be resourced to cope with new demands, otherwise staff will burn out, and we will have an unskilled workforce.” These concerns have informed the report’s Sentencing Review/Bill-related recommendations.

Delving further back into the policymaking and implementation process, participants commented on the impact of Government early release schemes – such as the ESCL scheme and SDS40. The schemes were said to have presented voluntary organisations with operational challenges because they had increased demand for services, without a concurrent increase in government support.

Future uncertainty:

There was a lot of uncertainty among participants. They knew policy and commissioning changes were coming down the track but didn’t know how these changes would impact them, or whether there would be the resources to support their implementation.

Factors hindering effective policymaking:

These concerns fed into wider feedback on what some organisations see as hindering effective policymaking. It was argued that there is a lack of understanding among policymakers of the underlying needs of people in contact with the CJS. Additionally, others argued that there is insufficient, long-term strategic thinking in CJ policy and a lack of join up across government departments. There was also frustration at constant changes being implemented by new governments as opposed to a focus on sustaining what works.

Looking ahead:

Much of the focus was, understandably, on the impact of the Sentencing Bill. The sector remains concerned about an increase in demand on their services and wants to see the resources in place – as recommended by the Sentencing Review – to cater for this. That’s why State of the Sector 2025 calls for:

• An increase in funding for the voluntary sector to support the greater numbers of people accessing services in the community.

There’s much more when it comes to recommendations for policymakers, but you’ll have to read the report to find out!