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In this month's edition...
Covid-19
Our main priority over recent weeks has been supporting the voluntary sector working in criminal justice as plans to tackle the Covid-19 virus escalate.
We have taken a number of steps in response to Covid-19 and are working closely with government officials, to:
- Understand impact – we have undertaken our first survey of voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system to understand the impact of Covid-19 on their work. 170 organisations responded to the survey and told us that only 6% are fully operational and 20% expect to have to issue redundancies in the next three months. None the less the sector is adapting and responding flexibly with 72% of organisations continuing to provide services through telephone contact with service users. The full results will be published in a blog this week and have been shared with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the Justice Select Committee.
- Support practice – we have a dedicated mailbox - covid19@clinks.org - for voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system who have concerns or questions regarding how Covid-19 will affect their operations or the information they should provide to service users. We have also agreed a process with HMPPS through which we can coordinate offers of support from the voluntary sector for how they can adapt their service or deliver more support to people in prisons, youth custody or in the community in the context of Covid-19. Find out more about how to make a proposal here.
- Influence policy makers – we have established a Special Interest Group of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) on Covid-19. The RR3 is a voluntary sector advisory group to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). This Special Interest Group is meeting on a weekly basis and notes and recommendations from meetings are sent to officials and the Minister of State for the MoJ, Lucy Frazer QC MP weekly. We are publishing weekly blogs which summarise the key issues raised during the Covid-19 SIG meetings. Find them here.
- Ensure sustainability of organisations - we have been working with colleagues in the wider voluntary sector and through the #everdaycounts campaign to call on the government to put in place measures to reduce the financial pressure on organisations including relief funding, relaxing contract or grant requirements where organisations cannot deliver because of Covid-19 measures, and payment guarantees for the next three months.
This is a rapidly changing situation. To stay updated on the latest information about the impact of Covid-19 on the criminal justice system and our work to support and advocate for the voluntary sector through this, keep an eye on our dedicated webpage here. This webpage also signposts to a range of sources of support.
Our wider policy work
In addition to responding to Covid-19, we have been continuing to work on other priority areas, including:
- Families of people in the criminal justice system – we attended a virtual meeting with HMPPS on the progress of implementing both Farmer reviews into maintaining family ties for men in prison and women in the criminal justice system.
- Influencing the probation reform programme – Clinks also met with the probation review team at HMPPS to discuss progress with the Dynamic Framework (the commissioning mechanism that is being implemented to procure rehabilitation and resettlement interventions) and feedback on the impact that Covid-19 is having on the sector and its potential ability to engage with commissioning processes. We are continuing to work to determine the impact of Covid-19 on the probation review and will keep the sector informed of any updates.
- Stronger voice project – Clinks has been successful in receiving funding for from Lloyds Bank Foundation as part of its criminal justice grants programme. We attended a meeting alongside other successful recipients of the grants programme to encourage collaborative working and forge links between our different projects.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and prisons As of 24th March 2020, the government has closed prisons in England and Wales to visitors. Families and friends have been directed towards other means of contacting people in prison including leaving them a voice message using the Prison Voicemail Service, sending an email using the email a prisoner service, or writing to them. This is part of wider measures to enforce social distancing and limit the times people leave their homes. So far, there have been Covid-19 cases confirmed in 47 prisons. The government states that prisons have been working closely with Public Health and NHS services to put robust contingency plans in place and have procedures in place to manage outbreaks and staff absences.
Budget 2020 Before efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic escalated and stricter social distancing requirements were put in place, Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt. Hon Rishi Sunak MP announced Her Majesty’s Treasury’s annual budget. There were specific commitments to justice in the budget, including an additional £156 million in 2020-21 to tackle prison maintenance issues, helping to maintain prison operating capacity and improve conditions for those living and working in prisons in England and Wales. The government has also committed to a programme of investment in communities across the country who experience high levels of need, through committing £46 million from the Shared Outcomes Fund – an initiative to promote cross-departmental programmes – to provide improved support to individuals overcoming multiple disadvantage, such as homelessness, re-offending and substance misuse.
Increase in victim surcharge Ministers will increase the Victim Surcharge by five percent. This means individuals will be required to pay up to £190 depending on the sentence they receive. The surcharge is imposed by courts on all people convicted of an offence. It contributes to the Ministry of Justice’s victim and witness budget which is used to grant fund Police and Crime Commissioners who then commission local support services for victims. It also funds nationally commissioned support such as rape support centres across England and Wales and the court-based Witness Service. The increase is expected to collectively generate up to £2 million extra annually. A Statutory Instrument will be introduced in relation to offences committed on or after 14th April 2020.
Immediately reduce number of people in detention settings In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Clinks alongside over a hundred voluntary sector organisations, grassroots networks and academics, have signed a letter organised by INQUEST and Women in Prison to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The letter states that it is not possible to follow Government advice on Covid-19 in prison. Deaths of people in custody are already at a historic high, and the Covid-19 outbreak in prisons and measures to tackle it threaten to escalate this problem on an unprecedented scale. The letter calls on government to urgently reduce the number of people in detention and custody settings. It calls for existing resources to be reallocated so that no one is released into destitution, poverty or with a lack of health and welfare support.
Save lives - prevent the use of short prison sentences Revolving Doors Agency has launched a campaign and organised a collation of supporters, including Clinks, for the temporary stop of short prison sentences. This is to limit the rapid churn of people vulnerable to Covid-19 in and out of prison and keep prisoners and staff safe. Revolving Doors Agency estimates that during the peak of pandemic up to 2,000 people with Covid-19 will arrive in prison to for a stay of three months. The government is being urged to make a clear statement prioritising community and suspended sentences ahead of short custodial sentences of six months or less for all non-violent and non-sexual offences and to urge the reduction of recall on license for breach of post-sentence supervision.
Covid-19 prison preparedness update In this blog, Anne Fox, Clinks CEO, provides an update following the announcement by the Ministry of Justice that all prison visits in England and Wales are temporarily suspended. The blog contains information of alternative ways people in prison can be contacted including letters, emails and phone contact. Some cells have in-cell telephony and the prison estate will also be provided with 900 secure phone handsets that will enable prisoners to speak to pre-authorised contacts. The phones will also give prisoners access to support services like the Samaritans.
What women lose Olivia Dehnavi, Policy and Research Officer at Working Chance, has written a blog for International Women’s Day about the devastating impact of short prison sentences on women’s lives and the importance of employment for women who have been in contact with the criminal justice system. She says: “Employment can provide an income, and is one of the strongest factors in reducing reoffending. But a job means more than money. It means more, even, than the financial autonomy that could keep your children in your care, or sustain a life independent of an abusive partner. For many, a job is a sense of purpose and a reason to get up in the morning.”
What’s on the horizon for health and justice? Before escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic, Clinks’ Health and Justice Policy and Development Officer Zahra Wynne wrote this blog looking at what was on the horizon for health and justice. Zahra talks about the specific health inequalities that people in contact with the criminal justice face, and what Clinks is hoping to do as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance this year to support the voluntary sector to address these issues. She notes the key health and justice initiatives listed in the NHS Long Term Plan that Clinks will be seeking to engage with, including the RECONNECT service and the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement programme.
A closer look at funding for the criminal justice voluntary sector In this blog, Policy Officer Lauren Nickolls takes a closer look at funding changes and trends for voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system, based on the findings of our state of the sector research 2019. We found that overall grant funding for specialist criminal justice organisations has fallen by 17% over a nine year period, reducing the availability of such a vital source of income for many organisations in the sector. As grant funding decreases, we are seeing a corresponding increase in the earned income of specialist criminal justice organisations. We also continue to find that organisations delivering under contract or sub-contract are struggling to achieve full cost recovery.
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Written monthly by...
Clinks' policy officers, Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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