Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 662 | 27th November 2020

Light Lunch

In this week's edition...

    CLINKS VACANCY: lead our race and justice work

    We have a secondment opportunity available for a member of voluntary sector staff to join Clinks for 18 months to lead our race and justice work [£33,535 FTE, part time, flexible location]. The post-holder will work with our network of organisations providing specialist services for people from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background in the criminal justice system to ensure we are meeting their needs, sharing their knowledge, and amplifying their voices to improve policy and practice. Find out more and express interest by 7th December here

    CLINKS VACANCY: join the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group

    The deadline to apply for the vacant position on the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) is near. This vacancy is for a senior manager of a voluntary organisation providing education services to people in contact with the criminal justice system. The RR3 is an influential advisory group to the government, consisting of senior experts from the voluntary sector that work closely with senior officials from Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service to reduce reoffending and to build a more effective partnership between the government and the voluntary sector. The deadline is Sunday 6th December. Find more information here

    CLINKS NEWS: have your say on what Clinks Thinks

    Which policy areas have the most impact on the people you support and the delivery of your services? We want our policy and influencing work to accurately reflect the experiences of voluntary organisations working in criminal justice. Take just 5-10 minutes to share your thoughts on our current policy priorities, and tell us what else you would like to see Clinks advocate for on behalf of the voluntary sector working in criminal justice. You will help inform our future influencing activity and a new edition of Clinks Thinks which we aim to publish in 2021. The survey is open until 10th December. Read more about this work here, and take the survey here

    CLINKS EVENT: new members

    The Clinks membership team would like to invite all organisations who have joined Clinks in recent months to come together, find out more about Clinks and meet fellow members [2nd December, online, free]. We will cover: Clinks’ directories, the jobs board and the funding portal; our events and training sessions; our ebulletins and promotional opportunities; Clinks' areas of work and support available. Is there something you need support with? We’re here to listen, and you are more than welcome to bring your tea and biscuits. Register here

    CLINKS EVENT: Greater Manchester co-commissioning probation services

    This is the second in a series of engagement events that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Clinks are hosting to help voluntary organisations understand the co-commissioning process for probation services in Greater Manchester as part of the new probation model [17th December, online, free]. Greater Manchester will not be procuring probation services through the Dynamic Framework commissioning process from June 2021. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are instead co-commissioning these services with GMCA. This event will be specifically looking at the Personal Wellbeing contract lot and the Accommodation contract lot. Book your place here

    CLINKS ASKS: prison video calls

    We’re exploring experiences of secure video calls to prisons – have you or your service users had any issues this year? Tell us here or you could send us an email.

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: outcomes for women in custody

    HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) is consulting on the criteria it uses to inspect outcomes for women in custody. This latest draft of the criteria includes indicators that Clinks recommended should be added in our response to the initial consultation last year. For example, we welcome that prisons will now be expected to ensure voluntary organisations are supported and that all prisons have a named manager who is responsible for coordinating the work of voluntary organisations. We also welcome the much greater emphasis on prisons supporting women in a trauma-informed way. More information about the consultation is here. Clinks will again be responding to HMIP, and we invite any organisations who have any views on how the criteria can be further strengthened to contact will.downs@clinks.org by Monday 7th December.

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: mutual mentoring scheme

    Trailblazers is piloting a mutual mentoring programme supported by Deloitte, a leading global professional services firm. With support from fellow criminal justice organisations Cracked It and StandOut, the new six-week programme will offer around a dozen young men the opportunity to take part in tailored, one-to-one mentoring sessions with partners and senior employees from Deloitte. Over the course of four hour-long sessions, the young men will receive advice and guidance from industry professionals to aid them with their personal and professional development. Deloitte is also providing four employability and financial skills workshops, delivered over Zoom and tailored to provide support with navigating the challenges of a post-pandemic job market. Find out more here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: sentencing, education and peer mentoring

    Issue 18 of the Probation Quarterly from the Probation Institute is available to read online now. This edition includes a collection of responses to the government’s sentencing white paper, A smarter approach to sentencing; a feature on the Transition to Adulthood initiative from Barrow Cadbury Trust and the T2A Alliance; and a look at peer mentoring in criminal justice from Gillian Buck, University of Chester. Read it here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: HM Inspectorate of Prisons survey

    HM Inspectorate of Prisons has launched its 2020 stakeholder survey. The feedback received from stakeholders will be used to inform HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ future business planning. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is especially interested to hear your thoughts on its response to Covid-19. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and it will close at noon on 14th December 2020. Take the survey here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: victim perpetrator binary

    Working Chance’s Policy and Research Officer Olivia Dehnavi has written an article for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. She unpicks the victim/perpetrator binary and highlights how women with convictions are often victims of violence themselves. Seven in 10 women in prison report that they are a survivor of domestic violence and Olivia emphasises that women, who are mostly convicted of non-violent acquisitive crimes such as shoplifting, are often victims of much more serious offences than the ones they are accused of. She concludes that the cycle of victimisation and offending can be broken by support from women-specific services. Read more here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: inspected youth offending services

    HM Inspectorate of Probation has published its annual report of inspected youth offending services, showing inconsistences in performance remain. This report looks at inspections of 16 youth offending teams (YOTs), which took place between April 2019 and October 2020. The Inspectorate finds improvements are required in more than half of services, with assessment of risk of harm again emerging as a key area of concern. Work with cases diverted from court remains of poorer quality than those going through the court system. The Inspectorate has this year looked closely at the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic children within the youth justice system and outlined the new ways in which some YOTs are addressing disproportionality. Read it here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: young people with a parent in prison in the north east

    Nepacs has launched a new online programme of support for young people with a parent/relative in prison or serving a community sentence to access mentoring from a trained youth worker and peer support through virtual group activities. The service has been designed to support young people aged eight to 17 years across the north east who are experiencing feelings of isolation, trauma and distress as a result of their parent or relative’s custodial or community sentence, and who have not been able to access regular support due to social distancing and stay-at-home measures. Read more here

    CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: experience of victims and long-term prisoners

    The Independent Commission into the Experience of Victims and Long-term Prisoners is inviting written submissions of evidence. The aim of the Commission is to create the space for a more measured and informed public and political debate about how the most serious crime is punished, the treatment of the perpetrators and the attention given to victims and their families once sentence has been passed. The work of the Commission is guided by its terms of reference and supported by a secretariat, which includes the Prison Reform Trust. To inform its work, the Commission is inviting written submissions relating to several areas of inquiry. The deadline for submissions is 1st January. Find out more here

    CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Prison Leavers Project secondment opportunity

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is looking for an expert on employability and skills to join the Prison Leavers Project on secondment for two years as a team lead. The project has received £20m to adopt new approaches that address barriers people face on release from prison to access services and reintegrate into the community. This opportunity is open to both voluntary sector and public sector applicants. The role is fully funded, and will be based in multi-agency teams, including experts from government departments, local authorities and voluntary organisations. Successful candidates will continue to spend part of each week embedded in their ‘home organisation’. To find out more information, or to request a role description and an expression of interest form, email prisonleaversproject@justice.gov.uk. The deadline is 9th December.

    CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: weekly Covid-19 tests in prisons

    The government has announced that weekly Covid-19 tests will soon be made available to all staff in prisons. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has further confirmed with Clinks that anyone who ‘regularly’ attends a prison in a ‘prisoner facing role’ is eligible for the weekly test, including people employed by voluntary sector providers. If eligible, voluntary sector staff should engage with the prison governor about accessing weekly testing. HMPPS is currently exploring whether it can secure additional testing capacity that would enable all people who come to work in the prison to access weekly tests. The initial announcement was made by the Prime Minister here

    FUNDING: improving the outcomes of local prison leavers

    The Ministry of Justice is launching a Local Leadership and Integration (Grant) Fund worth £7.1m available to local public and voluntary sector organisations. The grant has been designed to empower, fund and support local leaders and agencies to propose innovative new ways of working together towards shared outcomes that improve the lives of prison leavers. There will be two rounds of funding, the first beginning in January 2021. The maximum bid being awarded is set at £1 million. If you are interested in finding out more, sign up to a webinar session in early December for further details of the fund here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: In Conversation with Sir Ken Macdonald

    In the fourth of a series of Howard League ‘In Conversation’ events, Frances Crook, CEO of the Howard League for Penal Reform will be talking to Sir Ken Macdonald QC, President of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Warden of Wadham College Oxford, founder member of Matrix Chambers and former Director of Public Prosecutions [7th December, online, free]. The focus of the conversation will be the rule of law. Book your place here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: social value framework

    NCVO is running an online event to help organisations understand the new social value framework, which will apply to central government procurement from 1st Jan 2021 [9th December, online, free]. The VCSE crown representative Claire Dove, and Samantha Butler from the Cabinet Office, will explain the new framework and be available to answer questions. Book your place here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: the latest and best data

    Join Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales for the launch of the Small Charities Data hub [10th December, online, free]. This is a new resource pulling together multiple quantitative data sets on small charities all in one easy to access hub. The data, spanning over five years, highlights the financial pressure small charities across the UK faced before the onset of the health crisis. The Small Charities Data hub is an initiative led by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales in partnership with the Small Charities Coalition, NCVO, LocalGiving, the FSI, Locality, 360Giving and more. Find out more and book your place here

    CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: the future of the sentencing council

    Transform Justice invites you to the online launch of a new report from Rob Allen on the future of the Sentencing Council [15th December, online, free]. Recently, Crest Advisory estimated that the prison population in England and Wales could increase by 34% by 2024. Can this rise be stopped and what role could the Sentencing Council play in doing so? Join the online discussion featuring Rob Allen and Professor Nicky Padfield. Book your place here

    CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES

    Executive PA with Changing Tunes [Bristol], Trainer Assessor with St Giles Trust [Norwich], Operations Manager with Step Together Volunteering [Bristol], Recovery Coordinator with Humankind [Newcastle upon Tyne], Strategic Director with NAPA – Independent National Approved Premises Association [home based], Senior Support Worker with Nacro [Birmingham], Liaison and Diversion Practitioner with Together for Mental Wellbeing [London], Family Support Worker with Family Action [HMP Styal], Bookings Coordinator with Odd Arts [Manchester], Engagement Worker with Community Led Initiatives CIC [Manchester]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

    TIPS OF THE WEEK

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    EXTRA INFORMATION

    About Clinks Light Lunch

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