Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 669 | 29th January 2021

Light Lunch

In this week's edition...

CLINKS NEWS: vaccine deployment in prisons

Clinks has written to Nadhim Zahawi MP, Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment and to the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation to request that people in prison and those who work with them, including voluntary sector staff and volunteers, are given priority vaccination against Covid-19. Levels of infection in prison have been minimised by implementing severely restricted regimes, including prolonged periods where prisoners have been confined to their cells for 23 hours a day. These measures have unsurprisingly had an acute impact on people in prison, with reports of deteriorating mental health and increased self-harm in prisons. The letter argues that vaccinations across the whole prison system would enable the restoration of a prison regime that is as safe and rehabilitative as possible. Read the letter here

CLINKS SURVEY: getting to know London organisations

Calling all voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system in London. Our London Development Officer Tiegan Mercer has launched a 10-minute survey to help build a picture of the type, size, location and number of voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system across London. It will enable Clinks to identify the services being delivered, the partnerships that exist and the priority areas that require our support. Findings will be compiled into a snapshot report and will enable Tiegan to better support organisations in London. Please note our full State of the sector research survey will be launched later this year. If you have any questions about the London survey, please contact tiegan.mercer@clinks.org. Take the survey here

NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE ARTS ALLIANCE NEWS: staffing update

Anne Fox, Clinks CEO and the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) Co-Chairs have been discussing future plans for the NCJAA. They are currently looking at the NCJAA Director job role and recruitment processes, with a view to recruiting for a new Director for the Alliance. We are very grateful to Rebecca Hammond who has been in post as Interim Director since September. Rebecca has decided to step down from the role at this stage, but she will be staying in Clinks’ employment and will be around to support NCJAA colleagues where helpful as part of the wider team. For more information on the new Director role and application timeline keep an eye on Light Lunch and our job board here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: Koestler Awards 2021

The Koestler Awards 2021 is now open for submissions. The annual Koestler Awards from Koestler Arts welcome artists of all levels and artforms from prisons, secure hospitals and probation services. They offer cash awards (of between £20 - £100), written feedback, certificates, mentoring, publication, exhibition and sale opportunities. Around three and a half thousand people enter yearly, providing a creative outlet and wider recognition for their work. The Themed Category for this year is ‘Together’. Every entry to the Koestler Awards is in with a chance of being selected for the Koestler Arts annual UK exhibition at the Southbank Centre in London. This September, artist Camille Walala will be curating the show. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: prison leavers in London

Switchback has produced a briefing detailing evidence gathered from its frontline work over the past year, outlining three areas where urgent action is needed to protect prison leavers and the public. In response to the pandemic, Switchback reconfigured its service and last year supported more young prison leavers than ever before. Evidence from its work during Covid-19 shows a high rate of homelessness (65%) among prison leavers in London, with many also released without a bank account, ID or phone to contact essential services. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: prison education

New research from the Ministry of Justice’s Justice Data Lab shows that the positive impact of education for people supported by Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) goes far beyond finding work. The report demonstrates three key things about the people funded by PET to study distance learning courses in prison: they are more likely to get a job within one year than prisoners PET does not support; even if they do not get a job they are less likely to reoffend within that year than other prisoners who do not get jobs; and if they do get jobs they are even less likely to reoffend than other prisoners who find employment. Read more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: online consultation

Inside Out Support Wales is running an online consultation to help support its work and funding over the next few years. If you support people with convictions into self-employment, education or in the community, the team wants to hear from you. The consultation is open until 5th February. Have your say here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: new funding to house prison leavers

The government has announced £70 million of new funding to reduce homelessness among prison leavers and cut crime. More than £20m will be invested in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary basic accommodation for up to 12 weeks. Launching in five of the 12 National Probation Service regions, this will support around 3,000 people in its first year. At least £23m of the funding will go towards the government’s plans to build 200 new spaces in Approved Premises. This follows last week’s announcement of £148 million to combat illegal drug supply and treat addictions. This includes £80 million to increase the number of substance misuse treatment places for prison leavers and those diverted into community sentences. Read more here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: update on Day 1 probation services

The Ministry of Justice Probation Dynamic Framework Team has provided an update on Day 1 services for the new probation model. Contracts for Education, Training and Employment have been awarded and mobilisation has started. The South Central region was not awarded and will be re-tendered in the week commencing 8th February. The outcome of Accommodation competitions will be announced in the week commencing 25th February. The re-tender for Accommodation in Wales is now live and the relevant bidders have been invited to the police and crime commissioner (PCC) level competitions. The Personal Wellbeing competition is currently in the moderation phase of evaluation and an outcome is expected in February. The Women’s contract competitions are currently under evaluation. Other categories and regions may require re-tendering based on the volume of submissions received. Read more about the new probation model on our probation webpage here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: temporary accommodation

Due to the ongoing pandemic, a further £3m funding has been allocated to a temporary accommodation scheme for prison leavers which will now be extended to 31st March 2021, subject to regular review. This means that individuals may receive support up to 26th May 2021. The temporary accommodation scheme provides up to 56 nights’ accommodation for prison leavers. This was introduced as an exceptional measure reflecting the challenges presented by Covid-19. Read more about the scheme in our blog from November 2020 here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: ethnic disproportionality

The Youth Justice Board has published research on Ethnic disproportionality in remand and sentencing in the youth justice system. The report findings include: that there are more restrictive remand outcomes for black and Mixed ethnicity children; there are fewer out-of-court disposals for black, Asian and Mixed ethnicity children; and there are harsher court sentences for black children. Where disproportionalities cannot be explained by controlling for other variables, the report identifies this may be due to biases in how sentencing and remand decisions are made, particularly pertaining to black children. For example, both remand decisions and legal outcomes are affected by practitioner assessments. Differences in practitioner assessments of vulnerability and risk might reflect biases in judgement and/or actual societal differences in circumstances and wellbeing. Read more here

FUNDING: Manchester BAME-led organisations

Emergency grants of up to £5,000 are available for small black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME)-led voluntary organisations in Greater Manchester affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, to enable them to respond to the needs of BAME communities. The funding is distributed by the Greater Manchester BAME network on behalf of Comic Relief and the National Emergency Fund. It is intended for new activities and services that benefit BAME communities in Greater Manchester, as well as for covering the additional costs of adapting existing services due to Covid-19. The funding will also help counter the loss of fundraising income directly caused by the pandemic. Organisations can apply for either a micro grant – from £50-£1000, or a small grant – from £1000-£5000. Find out more and apply by 26th February here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: virtual visitors voice groups

Friends and families of prisoners in North East prisons are able to join upcoming virtual Visitors Voice group meetings [4th-26th February, online, free], organised by Nepacs, taking place for prisons in the north east. The aim of the virtual groups (taking place via Zoom) is to give anyone with a loved one in a North East prison a 'voice' - which is particularly important at the moment with visits suspended. Find out more here

CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: stop and search

EQUAL, from the Black Training and Enterprise Group, is hosting the last in its #timetotalk series, focusing on section 60 police stops [17th February, online, free]. The event will be a lively and open forum, featuring guest speaker Katrina Ffrench. Katrina is the Founder and Director of Unjust C.I.C., a non-profit organisation challenging discriminatory practices and policies in policing and the wider criminal justice system, and former CEO of StopWatch UK. She will be giving attendees a unique insight into the latest implications of section 60, and her work campaigning for fairer policing in the UK. Attendees will then be invited to breakout rooms to allow for more intimate discussion of the issues and to share their own personal experiences. Find out more and sign up here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: supporting individuals with criminal records

Unlock has released new dates for its popular workshops on ‘Advising with Conviction’ [14th April and 16th June, online, from £139]. This full-day online training is designed for frontline professionals supporting or advising people with criminal records. It is designed to provide well rounded knowledge of how to support individuals with their criminal records and disclosing them to others. Find out more and sign up here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: safeguarding training

The PROCHILD Project - a transnational project involving six organisations including The IARS International Institute - is offering a multidisciplinary safeguarding training course for professionals [anytime, online, free]. This safeguarding e-course addresses difficulties surrounding identifying, detecting, and reporting cases of child abuse and maltreatment. The course aims to increase your awareness and skills of safeguarding, whilst promoting interaction between academia, social and health services, law enforcement and judicial authorities, to foster multidisciplinary approaches. The course is available to all professionals who work with children, young people, parents, and caregivers, or anyone who is interested or needs a refresher on the topic. Access the course and find more information here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING: sexual violence awareness

Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland is running specialist sexual violence awareness workshops [anytime, online, free]. The online workshops can be accessed at any time and are flexible so that learners can complete the training in short chunks and fit it around their work schedule. The workshops aim to increase knowledge about sexual violence and working with those who have experienced it. Participants in the online training have given positive feedback, including “I now feel confident about dealing sensitively and appropriately should anybody choose to disclose any experience of rape or sexual assault.” Find out more here

FEATURED VACANCY: Communications and Marketing Manager

Music In Detention is looking for an experienced and creative Communications and Marketing Manager [flexible, part time, £35,000 pro rata] to lead its communications strategy and operations. You will ensure that Music In Detention’s communications frame and strategy continue to evolve, so you will need to be able to think strategically at the same time as rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck into the practical detail. This is the only communications post in a small team, so it will be a demanding role, requiring versatility and initiative. You will have the opportunity to shape the organisation’s communications and play a key role in an exciting work programme, driven by strong values and delivered by a supportive and collaborative team. Apply before 10th February here

FEATURED VACANCY: Chief Executive Officer

Unlock is looking to appoint a Chief Executive Officer [flexible, full time, £60,000-£65,000] to lead the next stage of its development. Unlock is looking for a hands-on leader to work alongside its dedicated staff and volunteers, and stand-up for its beneficiaries. You will be genuinely committed to Unlock’s aims, mission and values and bring leadership experience, gained within an organisation focused on criminal and/or social justice, equality and human rights and/or supporting disadvantaged people. Unlock is looking for someone with the experience and know-how to continue to amplify its research, policy and campaigning work, has intellectual and political acuity, and the ability to foster and maximise partnerships. This is an opportunity to build on Unlock’s momentum and lead a well-respected and impactful organisation. Apply before 15th February here

CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES

Senior Housing First Worker with Changing Lives [Doncaster], Funded PhD with Open Clasp Theatre Company and Newcastle University [Newcastle-Upon-Tyne], Board Member with POPS [Greater Manchester], Communications and Campaigns Manager with Switchback [London], Trustee with Women in Prison [London], Bridge Builder with Imagine Independence [Knowsley], Curriculum Manager with Weston College [HMP Bristol], Support Worker with Nacro [Manchester], Mentor with Switchback [London], Recovery Coordinator with Humankind [Bishop Auckland], Change and Compliance Officer with Changing Lives [North East/home based]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

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EXTRA INFORMATION

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