Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 668 | 22nd January 2021

Light Lunch

In this week's edition...

CLINKS BLOG: prison regime delivery during national lockdown

In this blog, Will Downs, Policy Officer provides an update on what the prison regime now looks like after the implementation of national restrictions in England on Tuesday 5th January and Wales moving to alert level 4 from 19th December 2020. This information is drawn from an update issued by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), as well as information gathered at a recent meeting of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group special interest group on Covid-19. All adult prisons in England and Wales have moved to regime stage four of the National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services which means all social visits are suspended. To request weekly updates on the situation across the prison estate, please email covid19@clinks.org. Read the blog here

CLINKS BLOG: update from the policy team

In this blog, Clinks policy team outline what they’ve been doing to influence criminal justice policy and practice in the run up to the new year and reflect on priorities for 2021. This includes work on the impact of Covid-19, probation reform, the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group, health and justice, the female offender strategy, racism and discrimination, and working to ensure the voluntary sector’s voice is heard in policy influencing. With the pandemic still ongoing and a number of major changes set to take place in the criminal justice system in 2021, the team will continue to work hard to ensure the voluntary sector’s voice is heard and reflected in policy decisions and to keep you informed on changes and opportunities to get involved. Read more here

CLINKS NEWS: seeking senior voluntary sector leaders

Clinks is seeking senior leaders from the voluntary sector to join an influential advisory group to the government. We are looking for three individuals with expertise and experience in supporting people in contact with the criminal justice system into employment; delivering substance misuse services to people in prison or in the community; and leading a mid-sized criminal justice voluntary organisation (income £1m – £10). The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) works closely with senior officials in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to reduce reoffending and to build a more effective partnership between the government and the voluntary sector. The deadline is Sunday 28th February. Find more information here

CLINKS NEWS: Joni Emery joins the team

Joni joined the Clinks team in December 2020 as Executive Support Officer to support the work of the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance and join the Corporate Services team to assist with governance matters. Joni has a law degree and a professional career background in administration. Joni has created and managed Trusts for people experiencing difficulty in life including bereavement, terminal illness and disability. More recently, Joni has gained invaluable experience working in the criminal justice system, initially as a volunteer and subsequently as a project co-ordinator for a charity. This involved working in prisons, running health councils and conducting a Prison Council election inside a women’s prison. Meet the team here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: new chief executive

Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) has appointed Jon Collins as its new chief executive. Jon is currently the chief executive of the Magistrates Association, an independent charity and the membership body for magistrates in England and Wales. He will take up his new role at PET on 1st April 2021. Since 1989, PET has offered distance learning courses and educational advice to people in prisons across England and Wales - from GCSEs to the start of degrees, as well as a wide range of vocational courses. Jon joins the charity at a crucial time for prison education, as due to Covid-19 restrictions, the vast majority of learners have had no face-to-face education for nearly a year. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: women affected by gambling

GamCare’s Women’s Programme is conducting a short survey to gather the views of women who are, or have been, engaged in support services and/or treatment who either gamble, used to gamble, or have been affected by someone else’s gambling. This will improve the organisation’s understanding of individual gambling experiences, how gambling impacts different people, and what barriers women face when seeking support or accessing treatment. The Women’s Programme is designed to ensure that women who need support can access the right help at the right time. Find out more and take the survey before 31st January here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: sentencing reforms

The Centre for Justice Innovation has published the final briefing in its series looking at the implementation of the reforms outlined in the government’s recent sentencing white paper. This briefing, Delivering a Smarter Approach: Probation Professionalisation, looks at the intention to empower probation in a post-privatisation world. The briefing argues that a vital step on this journey would be to professionalise probation properly, creating an independent, external regulator to be the upholder of professional standards and effective practice across probation and offender management in England and Wales. Read it here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: impact of the pandemic

All four of Her Majesty’s Justice Chief Inspectors have united to express “grave concerns” about the potential long-term impact of Covid-19-related court backlogs on the criminal justice system across England and Wales. In a joint report, the Chief Inspectors spell out how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the work of the police, prosecutors, prisons, probation and youth offending teams. The Chief Inspectors raise concern about the lack of education provision in custody and in the community for young people and the highly restrictive regimes for a majority of prisoners which have continued for many months without respite, impacting negatively on their physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing and also more generally on prospects for effective rehabilitation. Read more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: prison video calls

Secure video calls are now running in all public and private prisons and young offender institutions (YOIs) across England and Wales, helping to maintain vital family ties during the pandemic. With the final installation of video call technology taking place last month, in just over 6 months, over 90,000 video calls have been made totalling almost 45,000 hours and connecting families in more than 100 countries. HMPPS has reiterated that video calls are a complementary resource to help maintain family contact not a replacement for social visits and where face-to-face visits can safely be delivered and remain the preference, no prisoner will be asked to substitute that for a video call. Read more here

FUNDING: transforming the lives of women

Grants of up to £150,000 are available from the Trust for London for work that develops new and imaginative ways of addressing the root causes of London’s poverty and inequality, especially work which has the potential to influence and change policy, practice and public attitudes. The Trust primarily supports small to medium-sized organisations, usually with an expenditure of less than £2 million. The Trust is willing to take risks by supporting unpopular causes and activities that the government is unlikely to fund. The Trust will also respond to new issues and ideas and find creative ways of tackling deep-rooted problems relating to poverty and inequality. Find out more and apply by 2nd February here

FUNDING: youth organisations

The Youth Covid-19 Support Fund from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is open to grassroots youth clubs, uniformed youth groups, and national youth and umbrella organisations in England. It will help to mitigate the impact of lost income during the winter period due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure services providing vital support can remain viable. The funding can cover costs incurred between 1st November 2020 and 31st March 2021 that enable the organisation to remain viable, open, reopen or partially reopen. Organisations can apply to cover 25% of annual expenditure up to a limit of £250,000 for local organisations and £2 million for national organisations. Find out more and apply by 5pm 12th February here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: In Conversation with Dame Vera Baird 

In the fifth in a series of Howard League In Conversation events Frances Crook, CEO of the Howard League for Penal Reform will be talking to Dame Vera Baird QC, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales [27th January, online, free]. Appointed on 24th June 2019 for a three-year term, Dame Vera is responsible for championing the interests of crime victims and witnesses and reviewing the operation of the Victims Code of Practice. As Commissioner, she regularly meets with heads of criminal justice agencies, ministers, chief constables, Police and Crime Commissioners, victim organisations, parliamentarians and voluntary groups. She undertakes reviews into victim services and reports on how agencies are complying with the Victims Code of Practice. Find out more and book your place here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: addressing dating violence

The IARS International Institute is holding an online international conference on its Children First project, focussing on addressing dating violence in Europe [28th January, online, free]. This is an opportunity to learn about how Europe is addressing the challenge of preventing teen dating violence, a form of gender-based violence occurring among adolescents in their first relationships. At the conference, you can listen to experts and professionals from the field and discover how to prevent teen dating violence from the bottom up through children and adolescents' participation. During the conference, IARS will provide an overview of what it offers for teachers, families and institutions. Find out more and register here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: fireside gathering concert

Irish Chaplaincy, a social action charity which offers advice, support and friendship to Irish prisoners in England and Wales, is hosting a ‘Fireside Gathering’ concert [5th February, 7.30pm, online, free]. The London Celtic Youth Orchestra is headlining, and Thomas McCarthy will also perform. Thomas, an Irish Traveller, singer and storyteller, was named Traditional Singer of the Year in the Gradam Ceoil Awards 2019. Various other talented musicians and poets will complete the line-up and it promises to be an uplifting evening. The event will be streamed live on the Irish Chaplaincy Facebook Page here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: understanding child sexual abusers

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s training course ‘Understanding child sexual abusers’ [10th – 11th February, online, £170 +VAT per person] provides information about different types of men who sexually abuse and their patterns of abuse, including those who abuse online. The course considers the impact of perpetrators’ attitudes and beliefs, as well as behaviour, on the children and young people they abuse; and impact on the protective parent and other family members. This course is ideal for social workers, police and probation service staff, counsellors, CAFCASS workers and others whose work requires them to understand and assess men who sexually abuse, or are alleged to have abused, children. Find out more here

OPPORTUNITY: volunteers needed to support NHS

Royal Voluntary Service is calling out to charity workers and volunteers to step forward to support the NHS and local communities. Thousands of volunteers are urgently needed this winter to help those affected by the pandemic and to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination programme safely and quickly to millions across the country. There are lots of different ways you can help, whether flexible or regular volunteering - from helping vulnerable people with their shopping, friendly phone calls or transport as an NHS Volunteer Responder, to assisting the vaccination programme in a variety of roles. If you would like to volunteer or would like to find out more about the volunteering options available, head to the ‘Hour of Need’ website for more information here

FEATURED VACANCY: Head of Research

User Voice is recruiting a Head of Research [£40,000, London, Full-time] to work closely with the Founder/CEO to lead User Voice’s peer research projects to influence fundamental changes to the policy and public debate, to innovate new services, and to reform systems. You will have experience communicating results to affect policy and practice and a strong commitment to the values of User Voice. You will also have experience in social research techniques, demonstrable project management experience and experience of leading on the production of research proposals and generating income. User Voice particularly welcome applications from ex-offenders and from all sections of the community regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability. Find out more and apply by 31st January 2021 here

CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES

Family Engagement Manager with Pact [HMP Pentonville], Administrator – Drug and Alcohol with Humankind [Durham], Advocacy Service Manager with The Advocacy Project [London], Prison Counsellor with Choices Islington [HMP Send], Director of Fundraising and Operations (Maternity Cover) with Khulisa [London], Chief Executive Officer with Unlock [Flexible], Support Worker with Changing Lives [Newcastle-Upon-Tyne], Offender Resettlement Worker with Shelter [HMP Forest Bank], Administrator with St Giles Trust [HMP Swansea], Business Start-Up Manager with RIFT Social Enterprise [Home based], IT and Database Senior Officer with Leap – Confronting Conflict [London], Anti-Racism Consultant with Clean Break [Home based], Health and Wellbeing Practitioner with The Forward Trust [HMP Wormwood Scrubs], Communications Officer with Working Chance [London], Chief Executive with Magistrates Association [London]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • 1.2kg weighted exercise hula hoop. 64% off. Details
  • Three for two on all Dulux Coloured Emulsion paint. Details
  • Microsoft Excel complete course. £9. Details

EXTRA INFORMATION

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