In this month's edition...
New Clinks policy team member
Clinks is excited to welcome Sophie Campion to the policy team. Sophie will be leading our Stronger Voice Project – a project which aims to support voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system in strengthening their voice and influence, with a particular focus on improving the policy and operating environment for small, specialist organisations. Please contact Sophie at Sophie.campion@clinks.org if you would like to speak to her more about the project.
Comprehensive Spending Review launched
Rishi Sunak MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has launched the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). The review will set the budgets for government departments for 2021/22 - 2024/25. A number of priority areas have been identified for the CSR – including supporting the NHS and cutting crime. There is a process for external stakeholders to submit representations to HM Treasury to inform the CSR. Clinks will be submitting a representation focusing on the need to divert people from the criminal justice system and invest in community alternatives to custody as well as the cost of an increasing prison population and the need to reduce sentence inflation. Read more here
Pause to early release scheme
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service have announced that the temporary release of people in prison assessed as low risk – which was one of the first steps taken as part of a wider strategy to protect the NHS and reduce the impact of Covid-19 on the prison estate – will be paused at the end of August. Current cases will continue to be worked through, with releases being made until Thursday 27th August 2020. The MoJ and HMPPS have stated that this decision will be kept under constant review over the coming weeks and months. Read more here
Improvements to care for pregnant women and mothers in prison
The Ministry of Justice has announced policy reforms following a review of Mother and Baby Units (MBUs). The intention is to improve the way that pregnant women and mothers are cared for in custody. Reforms will mean that every female prison will have a resident mother and baby specialist, there will be extra training for staff on looking after pregnant prisoners, and there will be a new advisory group set up to ensure support for such women. The number of pregnant women in custody and births in prison will be collected centrally and published for the first time, and a new committee, including current and former prisoners, is being established to ensure that implementation of these reforms can be monitored and learnt from. Read more here
Scrutiny visits
HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has developed a new methodology for inspecting prisons and other places of detention as they move away from the severe restrictions due to Covid-19. Scrutiny Visits (SVs) have now replaced the Short Scrutiny Visits (SSVs), which were used in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. SVs are short inspections of individual establishments, are more thorough than SSVs, and will reintroduce surveys of people in prison and other places of detention. SVs are not full inspections, but will involve more inspectors visiting establishments for longer, with reports on individual prisons. SV reports will enable HMIP to assess how prisons are balancing the risks from the virus against risks to individual health and welfare from sustained and severe regime restrictions. Read more here
Update on preventing and controlling outbreaks of Covid-19 in prisons
In line with Public Health England guidance, the Ministry of Justice and Public Health England have updated their guidance on preventing and controlling outbreaks of Covid-19 in prisons. Any prisoner with symptoms of Covid-19 should now be placed in protective isolation for at least 10 days (rather than the previous guidance of 7 days, in accordance with relevant powers). Arrangements should also be made to have them tested for Covid-19 immediately. Read more here
Changes to Public Health England
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, has announced the creation of the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP). The NIHP will bring together Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Test and Trace, as well as the analytical capability of the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) under a single leadership team. The responsibilities of the NIHP will include (but are not limited to): local health protection teams to deal with infections and other threats, the Covid-19 testing programme, emergency response and preparedness to deal with severe incidents at national and local level, and global health security. Read more here
Improving the quality of prison healthcare: research opportunity
Do you work with people who were recently released from prison who you feel might benefit from sharing their views on the quality of prison healthcare? The University of Leeds is leading a National Institute of Health Research funded project, and are inviting people released within the last 18 months to participate in confidential one-to-one telephone or video interviews about their experiences of receiving healthcare in the prison setting. Interviews will last from 30-45 minutes and are taking place over the next few months. The project seeks to understand what has worked, what hasn’t, and how the quality of prison healthcare could be improved in the future. If you would like more information, please contact the researcher Sue Bellass at s.bellass@leeds.ac.uk, or click here
Health and justice network event
Clinks is holding the third in a series of virtual health and justice network meetings [7th September, online, free] to understand the continuing and evolving impact of Covid-19 on voluntary sector organisations delivering health and care services to people in contact with the criminal justice system. The aim of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for voluntary organisations to come together to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on: service delivery, service users, and contract and grant requirements during these challenging circumstances. More information is available here
Impacts of Covid-19 on the financial sustainability of the voluntary sector
This paper from the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group special interest group on Covid-19, looks at how the funding challenges the criminal justice voluntary sector has experienced in recent years – including a decline in grant funding, underfunded contracts and an increased need to turn to social enterprises and trading arms to bridge shortfalls – has impacted the sector’s ability to weather and respond to this crisis. The paper recommends a needs-led commissioning model that allocates funds based on need rather than price per head; more sustainable grant funding with less bureaucracy and that covers core costs; and for organisations to retain underspend on contracted activities to fund the costs of remobilisation. Read the paper here
Justice Committee report on the ageing prison population
The Justice Committee has published its report on the ageing prison population, following an inquiry which Clinks and Recoop jointly submitted written evidence to and Recoop gave oral evidence for. The report details the challenges that older people in prison face with regards to health and social care, accommodation, purposeful activity, and resettlement. Additionally, the report notes the impact of Covid-19 on older people in prison, with few being eligible for early release and many having to shield. We are pleased to see the Committee accept our recommendation that the Ministry of Justice develop a national strategy for older people. The Committee further recommends that any expansion of the prison estate includes additional accommodation that is specifically adapted for older people. Read the full report here
The impact of Covid-19 on prisons
The Justice Committee has published a report looking at the response of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to the impact of Covid-19 on prisons. It finds that the pandemic has placed additional pressures on a prison system already facing long-term crises of overcrowding and under-investment. The committee is concerned that tight lockdown measures continue to be imposed on people in prison, and that there's a severe impacts on the mental health of adults and children in custody. It makes a number of recommendations, including for the MoJ to set out what additional mental health support will be offered to be people in prison, and for secure video calling to be available permanently across the prison estate. Read the report here
The experiences of BAME women in contact with the criminal justice system
The View Magazine has released a report, We Are Invisible, highlighting the mistreatment and systemic abuse to which women in prison are subjected; particularly women from minority backgrounds. The View Magazine, collaborating with charities, civil society actors, researchers and campaigners, launched a survey in June 2020 to capture the experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic women who have experienced domestic abuse in the criminal justice system. The report sets out the preliminary findings of the survey, giving answers from women surveyed on issues including mental health. The report provides recommendations to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, including a call for an immediate Health Needs Assessment at every prison so that the service responds to local need, and suggestions for necessary further research. Read the report here
Safety in custody statistics quarterly
The Ministry of Justice has published safety in custody statistics for England and Wales, reporting deaths in prison custody, assaults, and self-harm. In the 12 months to June 2020, there were 294 deaths in prisons, a decrease of 5% from the previous year. Of these, 76 deaths were self-inflicted. From March 2020 to the end of June 2020, 26 prisoners died where there was a clinical assessment that Covid-19 was a contributory factor in their deaths. Self-harm incidents reached a record high of 64,552 incidents in the 12 months to March 2020, up 11% from the previous year. In the 12 months to March 2020, the number of self-harm incidents per person also increased for both men and women. Read more here
Management of people in prison and on probation statistics quarterly
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service have published quarterly statistics on the management of people in prison and on probation. Between January to March 2020, 27,521 requirements were started under community orders, with decreases in almost all requirement types compared to the same period a year ago. In particular, drug and alcohol treatment requirements decreased by 25% and 12% respectively. Under suspended sentence orders, 13,042 requirements started between January and March 2020, with drug treatment requirements decreasing by 7% since the same period a year ago. Read more here
The user voice of lockdown
User Voice has published report on what people in the criminal justice system have been telling them about their experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, based on interviews with 747 people in prison and 1,450 people on probation. 33% of people on probation said they had stopped receiving one or more support services as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions, with some of the main areas being mental health and substance misuse services. Those trying to access services are struggling - many are without WiFi and cannot afford data to access remote services. Recommendations include providing updates on the early release policy, providing people with strategies on coping during lockdown, and giving people in prison access to cleaning products to maintain the cleanliness of their cells. Read the report here
Women’s experience of the Covid-19 lockdown
Advance has published a report following a survey of women in contact with the criminal justice system who are supported by its Minerva Services, sharing their experiences and the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown. The report found due to the lockdown, 60% of women surveyed reported a negative effect on their mental health and wellbeing, with 28% reporting an increased risk of self-harm and 27% reporting an increased risk of substance misuse. A key recommendation of the report is for all women in the criminal justice system to be offered emotional and mental health support, including specialist one-to-one holistic services and counselling where appropriate, to enable improved engagement with other services to meet women’s often multiple and complex needs. Read the report here
United Kingdom annual substance misuse report 2019
The UK Focal Point on Drugs has published a report on the national prevalence, impact, prevention and treatment of substance misuse. The report states that in 2018 to 2019, 28% of men and 42% of women in prison in England and Wales said they had substance misuse needs when they arrived at prison. In England in 2018, there were 27,241 people who started substance misuse treatment in prison - 28% of all people starting treatment in England that year. As in the community, opioids were the most common primary substance, with a slightly higher proportion of prisoners saying they had opioid problems than people in the community. Read the full report here
Covid-19 recovery grants
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has launched the Covid-19 Recovery Fund to help charities to recover beyond the immediate crisis. The fund will offer around 140 charities a two-year unrestricted grant of £50,000 alongside a Development Partner to help charities navigate a tumultuous future. Eligible for funding are small and medium sized charities with an income of between £25,000 and £1 million a year that are helping people overcome complex social issues, including mental health, homelessness, contact with the criminal justice system, and substance misuse. Find out more here
Tackling racism and inequality
Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer at Clinks, discusses racism and inequality in the criminal justice system, what Clinks has done on this issue so far, how we’ll be going further and our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organisation. Clinks thinks all sectors working in criminal justice must work to tackle racism and discrimination – including the government, statutory services and the voluntary sector. This means that we all have our part to play in recognising our own role in sustaining this inequality, our own potential to challenge it and, ultimately, play a part in reversing it. Our aspiration is to make Clinks a truly anti-racist organisation in all we say and do, and how we operate internally and externally. Read more here
Advising the government: an update from the chair of the RR3
In this blog, Anne Fox, Chief Executive Officer at Clinks and chair of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3), gives an update on the group’s work, advocacy in the context of Covid-19 and the recovery process, and work to influence probation reforms. We’ve published the latest notes from meetings of the group, which in March and July were attended by Lucy Frazer QC MP, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice. We are also delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Seebohm to the large organisation specialist RR3 seat. Read the blog here
Update on the rollout of video calling in prisons
Prisons and Probation Minister Lucy Frazer QC MP has written a blog to give an update on the rollout of video calling in prisons. It was announced in May that secure family video calls at prisons would be introduced across England and Wales, and the facility is now available at 64 establishments (as of 5th August). Where establishments are operating live calls, individual prison web pages are being updated. Other establishments are being trained, having equipment delivered, holding test calls or addressing local configuration issues. By the end of August, video calls will be available to all female prisoners and to all in the youth estate. Whilst this current video call service is a temporary measure, longer-term solutions for video calls are being considered in line with Lord Farmer’s recommendations. Read the blog here
Three months in: the impact of Covid-19 on the criminal justice voluntary sector
In this blog, Policy Officer, Lauren Nickolls discusses how voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system are faring during this challenging time, drawing from the findings of our latest survey. Demand for the voluntary sector’s services is increasing but a number of organisations are finding this hard to respond to, with restrictions still in place, particularly in prisons. Some organisations are planning to return to face-to-face services but there is still a lot of uncertainty about doing so. There is significant concern amongst the sector about the mental health needs of prisoners, lack of accommodation for prison leavers and lack of access to services in the community to support transition from custody. Read more here
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