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In this month's edition...
This policy briefing is lighter than usual, as policy activity has been affected by the winter break and the preceding pre-election period. Please keep an eye out on Clinks’ twitter feed and in our Light Lunch bulletins for further policy updates over the coming weeks.
Following the outcome of the general election, Clinks has been working to determine the direction of criminal justice policy and priorities for the new government. We will continue to provide timely updates about this and work to respond to national policy developments on behalf of our members and the people they support.
One area of stability has been the re-appointment of all ministers at the Ministry of Justice to their roles. Robert Buckland QC MP has been reappointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor; Lucy Frazer QC MP reappointed Minister of State for Prisons and Probation; and Wendy Morton MP and Chris Philp MP reappointed to their positions as Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State for the Ministry of Justice. Clinks has written to each minister to congratulate them on their re-election and appointments, and to offer our support in working together to improve outcomes for people in the criminal justice system.
Clinks has also written to the following ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to champion the work of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, and the voluntary sector working in criminal justice more broadly. Despite not standing as a parliamentary candidate in the general election, Nicky Morgan has been reappointed as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, after being made a life peer. Helen Whately MP has been reappointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism and Baroness Barran MBE has been reappointed Parliamentary Under Secretary for Civil Society.
We have been in ongoing conversation with the Ministry of Justice to inform the development of the probation reform programme, during which we have raised the needs and views of the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system. Following these conversations we are pleased that the Ministry of Justice has responded to concerns about its previous plans for the commissioning of women specific services through the Dynamic Framework. We welcome the recent announcement that Day One services will now be commissioned at Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) geographical areas and will include women’s interventions as one separate lot for all services. This commissioning process aligns more closely with what is needed to ensure women’s organisations are able to deliver services holistically to meet the needs of their service users. We will continue to advocate on behalf of these organisations as the probation review programme develops.
The Queen’s speech 2019 The government has announced a number of bills to be brought forward to parliament related to the criminal justice system. A new Sentencing Bill proposes to increase the amount of time some people stay in prison, by changing the automatic release point from halfway to the two-thirds point, for people sentenced for certain violent or sexual offences. The bill also proposes tightening community sentences through stricter curfews and increased hours of unpaid work. A Serious Violence Bill proposes making it easier for police to stop and search people with knife crime offences, and a Police Powers and Protections Bill risks criminalising people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. A bill only becomes law when it passes the House of Lords and is approved by a majority in the House of Commons.
Clinks publications
HM Inspectorate of Probation’s thematic inspection of probation work on accommodation services We’ve responded to HM Inspectorate of Probation’s (HMIP) call for evidence for its thematic inspection of probation work on accommodation services. Our response shows that there is both a clear lack of appropriate accommodation for people in the criminal justice system (particularly those leaving prison), and also many significant practical barriers preventing people trying to access what safe and secure accommodation is available. These include people being considered intentionally homeless when they are sent to custody; people not accessing private rented accommodation due to inability to pay a deposit and negative attitudes of private landlords towards tenants with convictions; and confusion over the roles and responsibilities of different agencies and organisations.
Ten years of tackling multiple disadvantage nationwide The Making Every Adult Matter coalition (MEAM) has published a report reflecting on their achievements over the last 10 years. Clinks was a founding member of MEAM in 2009, alongside Homeless Link and Mind. Since its inception, MEAM has worked with over 50 local areas across the country to improve the way public services are provided for people experiencing multiple disadvantage, directly improving over 1,000 individuals’ lives and indirectly supporting many more. Reflecting the voices of the people MEAM work alongside, including people with experience of multiple disadvantage, the report tracks MEAM’s achievements against their four strategic aims: transforming local systems; influencing policy change; promoting the value of every adult; and building a strong MEAM coalition.
Health and justice
Unlocking the evidence: Understanding suicide in prisons In this report, Samaritans delves into the extensive evidence collected through its work with people in prison to better understand why so many people take their own lives in custody. Samaritans provided emotional support to people in prison 332,974 times in 2018, through its telephone helpline and face-to-face Listener scheme. The report concludes that suicide risk is heightened by a combination of life experiences before imprisonment, including poor mental health and complex forms of disadvantage. It also says suicide risk is heightened by the pains of prison life, including being new to prison, the lack of purposeful activity and the impact and bereavement of peers in prison who die by suicide.
Birth Charter Toolkit Birth Companions has published a practical guide to help all those working with pregnant women and new mothers in prison to reduce risk and improve care. The resource maps out the key points for pregnant women and new mothers entering and moving through the prison system, detailing the risks at each stage, examples of how to mitigate these risks and the benefits that can result from providing the best possible care to mothers and babies. The resource is based on the insights of healthcare teams, prison staff, pregnant women and mothers, and works alongside the recommendations set out in the Birth Charter for women in prisons in England and Wales, which is now widely recognised in many forms of guidance and best practice.
Youth justice
Child arrests in England and Wales 2018 Data gathered through freedom of information requests by the Howard League for Penal Reform, shows that there were 70,078 child arrests in England and Wales in 2018, a 71% reduction from 245,763 in 2010. However, despite this overall decline, the Howard League identified a number of areas for continued improvement, including a worrying increase in child arrests during 2018 in 13 police areas. The Howard League also expressed concern that ethnicity was not recorded in 4,000 arrests in 2018. Given the disproportionality of black, Asian and minority ethnic people across the criminal justice system, the Howard League emphasises it is essential that forces record and provide accurate data on the ethnicity of the children they arrest.
A closer look at who the voluntary sector supports In the first in our series of detailed blogs looking at the findings of our 2019 State of the sector research, Policy Officer Lauren Nickolls takes a closer look at the demographics and needs of the service users that organisations support. For the third year in a row, organisations reported an increase in the number of people turning to their services and that the needs of people they support are becoming more complex and more urgent. Two thirds of organisations said they support people with substance misuse issues; over half said they support people who are homeless; and almost half said they support people with a specific financial need including poverty.
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Written monthly by...
Clinks' policy officers, Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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