![Policy Briefing](/sites/default/files/emails/Policy-Briefing.png)
In this month's edition...
For a full update on recent policy work at Clinks, please see our blog, which includes updates on:
- Recent ministerial changes at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) following a minor cabinet reshuffle in February
- The new confirmed membership of the Justice Committee
- The recent meeting of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory group (RR3), addressing probation reform and race disparity
- Our attendance at the latest meeting of the MoJ’s Advisory Board for Female Offenders
- Our recent work to respond to consultations, including the Home Office consultation on Unauthorised Encampments and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport consultation on decriminalising TV license evasion.
Clinks restructure
Restructuring our senior staffing To provide dedicated leadership on each of our five strategic objectives, Clinks is restructuring its senior team. Jess Mullen has taken on a new role as Director of Influence and Communications and Vic Sadler the role of Head of Corporate Services. We are also saying goodbye to two staff who have each been with us for almost 12 years, Kate Aldous and Richard Nicholls, who have taken voluntary redundancy. Kate and Richard have worked tirelessly as part of our senior team to deliver consistent support to the sector in the face of major challenges and changes facing the sector and Clinks, and have contributed to Clinks' growth.
Vacancies at Clinks
Four new roles at Clinks Following the restructure of our senior team we are recruiting a Director of Support and Development [£58,545, full time, London] and Head of Business Development [£51,324, full time, London]. We are also recruiting a Stronger Voice Project Coordinator [£32,029 pro rata, part time, London] to join our policy team and a London Development Officer [£32,029, full time, London] to join our area development team.
Draft Target Operating Model for Probation Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has published the target operating model for probation, setting out the design of the future probation model which is anticipated to be fully operational from 2022. The model published is broadly in line with what HMPPS has shared previously in the Draft Operating Blueprint and through market engagement. However, there remain a number of areas of concern, which Clinks will continue to work with the government to address. These concerns include how the new model aligns with the commitments government have made under the Lammy Review into race disparity and the Female Offender Strategy, and how HMPPS will ensure the involvement of smaller organisations in delivering services through the Dynamic Framework.
Tackling racial disparity in the criminal justice system: 2020 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published an annual update on its work to tackle race disparity in the criminal justice system (CJS), including how it is responding to the recommendations in the 2017 Lammy Review. It is clear that significant work has been conducted to progress the recommendations, such as introducing new systems and better data collection in prison, but we are concerned that this activity is not fully embedded across the department and we are yet to see a marked improvement in outcomes - with outcomes in some areas worsening. It is vital that tackling these inequalities remains a priority with sufficient resource and strategic leadership dedicated to addressing them. Clinks supported the Lammy Review to engage with voluntary organisations, and we continue to work alongside black, Asian and minority ethnic-led organisations to move towards achieving better outcomes.
Automatic early release of people convicted of terror offences ends The government has passed emergency legislation that removes people’s right to automatic release from prison halfway through their sentence if they have been convicted of terror offences. People convicted of these offences must now serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in prison, and all releases must be approved by the Parole Board. This applies retrospectively. We are concerned that these changes will not necessarily mean this group receive the services and interventions they require. An overall increase in the time that people spend in prison is only more likely to exacerbate the pressure prisons are currently under, making it more difficult for them and the services that work alongside them to respond to all prisoners needs.
Prisons
Improving the prison estate The National Audit Office has published a report critical of the government’s work to improve the prison estate. The report says HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is failing to provide a safe, secure and decent prison estate and are not meeting the needs of prisoners or those working in the prison system. The report says HMPPS has not been able to provide enough prison places, in the right type of prisons to meet demand. The report makes recommendations, including for HMPPS to develop a long-term strategy for the prison estate that extends beyond Spending Review budget cycles; and for HMPPS to use this strategy to work with HM Treasury to agree a multi-year funding agreement for the prison estate.
Probation
A joint thematic inspection of Integrated Offender Management HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services have conducted a joint inspection into Integrated Offender Management (IOM). IOM is a cross-agency response to reduce reoffending of people with multiple convictions. The inspection finds that Transforming Rehabilitation has had a negative impact on partnership working in local areas, while cuts to a range of services and high workloads amongst probation staff constrain the ability of operational services to work in an integrated fashion. The report makes recommendations aimed at increasing collaboration between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Home Office, and for the MoJ to ensure there is a workstream dedicated to IOM development in the probation reform programme.
Health and justice
Health inequality in England The Institute of Health Equity has published a report examining health inequalities in England, to mark 10 years since the publication of the landmark Marmot Review. Along with noting deteriorations in health and widening health inequalities in England since 2010, clear links are made throughout the report on the relationship between the wider determinants of health and contact with the criminal justice system. The report notes that involvement in the criminal justice system directly impacts on health, particularly with regards to stress and mental health. The report has a particular focus on youth crime, noting that violent crime, particularly among young men in deprived areas and those excluded from school, has serious immediate and long-term health impacts.
Review of Drugs Last year, Dame Carol Black was commissioned by the Home Office to conduct an independent review into drugs. Her first paper has been published, and sets out the key problems related to drug use and supply in England and Wales. Her key findings include a strong focus on the relationship between drugs and people in contact with the criminal justice system, highlighting that almost a third of people in prison are there due to offences related to drug use. The report also sets out the flaws of the use of short prison sentences for people convicted of drug use, as drugs are widely available in prison, access to treatment is limited and short term, and transitions into the community are handled poorly.
Prisoners’ use of hospital care Nuffield Trust has published a report highlighting the inequality people in prison face accessing hospital services. An analysis of 110,000 patient hospital records from 2017/18 shows that people in prison are not accessing hospital services as often as people with comparable demographics in the wider population and are twice as likely to miss outpatient appointments. The report suggests that a significant cause of this poorer access is due to the limited supply and availability of prison staff to take prisoners to and from hospital. The report makes a number of recommendations, including for national data to be published on the number of escorts from prison to hospital, and a greater number of telemedicine appointments in prison to be made available.
Women
Working it Out Prison Reform Trust and Working Chance have published a briefing looking at improving employment opportunities for women with convictions. The report points to existing evidence that shows the proportion of women in employment six weeks after release from prison is three times lower than for men — 4% of women compared to 11% of men. All women face barriers in the labour market, such as inequality in the division of caring responsibilities and the gendered nature of much part time and low paid work. However, women in contact with the criminal justice system face additional barriers such as needing to declare criminal convictions on job applications and struggling to access stable accommodation. The report makes a number of recommendations to government departments, prisons and employers.
Voluntary sector
Rebalancing the relationship The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has published emerging findings from its project exploring competition and collaboration between larger and smaller voluntary organisations. It has found that competition for contracts is having a negative impact on the voluntary sector, particularly when larger organisations use smaller organisations as bid candy, enter new markets without prior experience or submit loss making bids. In their draft recommendations, NCVO suggests organisations should consider introducing a range of policies to limit the impact they might have on smaller organisations and to work more collaboratively, including by refusing to submit loss-making bids and having a ‘no compete’ policy with smaller organisations. This work was conducted with the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
Multiple disadvantage is gendered This blog from Clinks’ Policy Officer Will Downs looks at Lankelly Chase Foundation’s recent research examining how the experiences of women who face multiple disadvantages differ from the experiences of men. By using a new definition of multiple disadvantage, that gives more prominence to the impact of violence and trauma, the report finds there is an equal gender split of those facing multiple disadvantage each year. The report also finds that women are more likely to have experienced one or more form of primary disadvantage in their adulthood than men, and of the 17,000 people who experience the most severe forms of disadvantage, 70% are women. This blog considers these findings and how contact with the criminal justice system can be best understood within definitions of multiple disadvantage.
New HMPPS grants for 2020-22 announced This Clinks blog gives details on the 16 new projects that have been awarded two-year grant funding from Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS). The projects selected, and the organisations that will deliver them, demonstrate the vast range of work that the voluntary sector delivers in the criminal justice system and include a number of Clinks members. The grants were awarded around four key themes: improving support for families and significant others; improving outcomes for those with protected characteristics; improving safety in custody; and improving health and well-being. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects.
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Written monthly by...
Clinks' policy officers, Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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