![Policy Briefing](/sites/default/files/emails/clinks_policy-briefing_header_1_7.png)
In this month's edition...
Clinks Annual conference and AGM 2021 is open for bookings [23rd-25th November, online, free]. We have invited a keynote speaker from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) who will share the government’s vision for the role of the voluntary sector in helping to build back a better criminal justice system. We also have a panel discussion including: Josh Stunell, bthechange CIC; Gemma Fox, North Wales Women’s Centre; and Hamish Robertson, St Giles Wise. Workshops will be hosted by Hibiscus Initiatives, Working Chance, Unlock, Genius Within, Prison Reform Trust, Run For Your Life, Synergy Theatre, Prison Phoenix Trust, Why Me? and GamCare. Book here
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) Covid-19 Special Interest Group convened two meetings in October discussing regime recovery. The first meeting discussed the National Framework and ending of regime mitigations, and the second considered possible next steps beyond the National Framework. Both meetings were attended by officials from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HMPPS. The notes will be published on the Clinks website in due course.
Clinks held our quarterly Health and justice network meeting on 19th October. Clinks is a member of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance, a partnership between voluntary sector representatives and the health and care system. We discussed and sought feedback on our priorities in this area and also heard from Anamika Basu, from the UK Health Security Agency, to discuss its Covid-19 Recovery in Prison strategy and understand what the voluntary sector needs to continue to support and meet the health needs of those in contact with the criminal justice system. This meeting is for organisations that deliver health services to people in contact with the criminal justice system, including mental and physical health services, substance misuse services, pregnancy and maternity services, services for older people, and services relating to learning disabilities.
Budget 2021 The Chancellor of the Exchequer has presented his Autumn Budget and Spending Review. The Chancellor announced an increase in funding for the Ministry of Justice, including £3.8 billion being invested across England and Wales to deliver 20,000 more prison places by 2025. There has also been an investment in transitional accommodation, including an extra £200m a year to improve access to accommodation, employment support, and substance misuse treatment, and to introduce further measures for early intervention and to tackle youth offending. We made two representations to the Spending Review, one setting out how the government can reduce reoffending by harnessing the knowledge and expertise of the voluntary sector, and another focussing on the need to fully invest in family services.
Health and Wellbeing Alliance evaluation The department for Health and Social Care has published an independent evaluation of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, commissioned by Ecorys. Clinks is a member of this alliance, which aims to bring the voice of the voluntary sector and people with lived experience into national policy making, to promote equality and reduce health inequalities. Overall, Health and Wellbeing Alliance members were positive around the overall aims of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance and felt it had delivered important work, albeit recognising that it would need to continue to evolve to provide maximum value from a potentially limited budget. The evaluation made recommendations surrounding four cross cutting themes: collaboration or competition; primary and/or secondary research; proactive or reactive input into policy agenda; and other secondary learning points.
Civil Society Minister appointment Nigel Huddleston MP has recently been appointed the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society. In a recent speech to the New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) Ignites 2021 conference, he agreed that “Charities, social enterprises and volunteers play a vital role in modern Britain. From large national organisations, to locally-run community projects, they tackle some of the greatest challenges that we face, and help people and communities most in need”. We have written to Nigel to congratulate him on his role and to offer our support in ensuring a voluntary sector that thrives and is able to continue delivering its essential services to people.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Organisational Chart HMPPS has published an updated high level organisation chart, including the Chief Executive Officer, Director General, and Director Structure.
Improving employment outcomes for prison leavers Following new data showing widespread support for businesses which recruit prison leavers, The Deputy Prime Minister has set out his ambition to increase the number of prison leavers gaining skills and prison leavers in jobs six months after release. The data also reveals that that over 90 percent of businesses that employ prison leavers said that they are reliable, good at their job, punctual and trustworthy, and over 80 percent of the public think that businesses who give prison leavers a second chance are making a positive contribution to society.
Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate The government has released statistics, up to June 2021, regarding safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (this includes Young Offender Institutions, Secure Training Centres and Secure Children's Homes). Key findings include that the annualised rate of assault incidents had increased by 124% compared to the same period last year, which was during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, the annualised rate of self-harming had increased by 27% compared to the same period last year. The number of individual children and young people self-harming increased 20% in the three months to 30th June 2021 compared to the same period last year. This is in the context of the average population falling 24% over the same period.
Safety in Custody The government has released statistics regarding safety in custody in England and Wales, for deaths in prison custody in the 12 months to September 2021 and assaults and self-harm to June 2021. During this time period, there were 396 deaths in prison custody, an increase of 40% from the previous 12 months. There were 53,290 self-harm incidents in the 12 months to June 2021, down 13% from the previous 12 months, comprising a 16% decrease in male establishments and a 2% increase in female establishments. Over the same period, the rate of self-harm incidents per 1,000 prisoners, which takes account of the reduction in the prison population between this and the previous year, decreased 13% in male establishments but increased 16% in female establishments.
Deaths of people under probation supervision in the community The government has released statistics regarding deaths of people under probation supervision in the community in England and Wales. In 2020/21, there were 1,343 deaths of people under probation supervision in the community, up 34% from 999 deaths in 2019/20. There was also an increase in deaths during court order supervision of 13% and an increase in deaths during post release supervision of 59%. Self-inflicted deaths increased by 18%, but as a proportion, this decreased from 35% of all deaths to 30% of all deaths. The increase in number of deaths of people under Community Rehabilitation Companies supervision was 20%, and for people under National Probation Service supervision the increase was 57%.
Charity Commission Covid-19 Survey 2021 The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published the findings from its Covid-19 Survey 2021. The Commission found that nearly all charities (91%) in England and Wales have experienced some negative impact from Covid-19. The consequences have been wide-ranging and often severe, spanning service delivery, financial and staffing issues, as well as frustration and uncertainty. The survey found that many charities have actively tried to counter the impact of Covid-19, most commonly by adapting their services. Whilst many have actioned changes in light of Covid-19, there is some concern surrounding future viability. Some charities have already accessed funding support, but many would appreciate further clarity on where to find it.
Youth Justice
Black and mixed heritage boys in youth justice services HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) has published a thematic inspection into the experiences of Black and mixed heritage boys in the youth justice system. The report found that the large majority of this cohort had experienced multiple adverse childhood experiences and had high levels of need, such as special educational needs and mental health difficulties, which had not always been identified or properly addressed until they came into contact with the youth offending services (YOS). HMIP make a number of recommendations to the Youth Justice Board, the Home Office, the Department for Education, police area forces, local authorities, and YOS staff and governance to improve the outcomes for this cohort of service users.
Health
Health care access in prisons The Nuffield Trust has published a report titled “Injustice? Towards a better understanding of health care access challenges for prisoners”. The report highlights that prisoners in England are still facing severe challenges accessing hospital services, increasing the risk they will be more seriously ill by the time they are seen. In the light of this new analysis, it is clear that many of the challenges identified in the 2020 report are long-term problems that still need addressing, and Covid-19 has resulted in significant changes to life in prison, many of which will have had direct implications for the areas where change was needed most. The Nuffield Trust has therefore reviewed its previous recommendations, focussing on improving prisoners’ access to hospital care and making better use of hospital data.
Multiple disadvantage
MEAM Approach Evaluation The Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) coalition has published a report evaluating year four of the MEAM Approach. The MEAM approach is a non-prescriptive framework to help local areas design and deliver better coordinated services for people experiencing multiple disadvantage. The key findings indicate progress in improving wellbeing, improvements in accommodation, better access to and use of support from statutory mental health services, a reduction in the use of unplanned services and therefore a change in service use and accommodation costs. The report also discusses the effectiveness of systems change work across the MEAM approach network, including a spotlight on specialist services, and also the role that Covid-19 has played on enacting systems changes. MEAM is a coalition of Clinks, Homeless Link, Mind and associate member Collective Voice.
MEAM spending review submission The MEAM coalition has published its response to the spending review, highlighting the need for a continued focus on multiple disadvantage. The submission urged the government to: make a clear commitment to tackling multiple disadvantage with a focus on cross departmental learning; ensure continued, secure and long-term investment in public services that support people experiencing multiple disadvantage on a daily basis; and create a step-change in the way that government funding supports its policy ambitions for tackling multiple disadvantage by ensuring new processes are in place to create the conditions for cross-departmental collaboration and learning. MEAM believes these measures will allow the investment that government makes as a whole to have the strongest possible positive impact on people facing multiple disadvantage.
Women
Counting the Cost of Maternal Imprisonment Crest Advisory has published a report focussing on the cost of female imprisonment for two particularly vulnerable groups - mothers who are imprisoned and their children. The report states that data collection on maternal status is inconsistent, limiting the ability of relevant agencies to understand the scope and scale of those affected by maternal imprisonment, and maternal imprisonment is a significant trauma for children with potentially devastating consequences. The report makes a series of recommendations amongst three principles for reform: mothers should only be sent to prison as a last resort; children affected by maternal imprisonment must be offered specialist support; and maternal identity and the impact of separation from children must be recognised, understood and supported.
Women in Prison inquiry On 2nd November, the House of Commons Justice Committee heard evidence from Victoria Atkins MP (Minister of State for Prisons), Dr Jo Farrar (Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, and Chief Executive Officer at HM Prison and Probation Service), and Kate Davies CBE (Director of Health and Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Referral Centres (SARCs) at NHS England). The Minister said a whole systems approach needs to be driven forward across government, recognised the importance of pre-sentence reports in informing sentencers, and said she was keen to continue the previous Lord Chancellor’s work on neurodiversity. There was also emphasis on a ‘trauma-informed’ approach, including in training for staff.
Impact of prison on mothers Russel Webster has published a blog summarising some of the key findings from the executive summary of Lucy Baldwin’s PhD titled Motherhood Challenged: Exploring the persisting impact of maternal imprisonment on maternal identity and role. The research is based on in-depth research with 43 criminalised mothers, recording their early experiences of the criminal justice system, for which missed opportunities was a cross-cutting theme across the report. She concludes that the criminal justice system is “is largely designed by men for men... in places it essentially fails criminalised women, especially mothers; whose needs have often been neglected or ignored”, and calls for motherhood to be factored into supervision and sentence planning.
Regional Reducing Reoffending Plans In this blog, Policy Officer Franklin Barrington summarises the Regional Reducing Reoffending Plans produced in August 2021 by the 12 Regional Probation Directors. He also looks at how voluntary organisations can play their part in helping to define and strengthen probation strategies at a regional level. The publication of these plans is a positive step and helps to strengthen accountability of the Probation Service under the reformed operating model. However, we see a mixed picture: some plans give lots of detail on the steps that will be taken locally across a range of areas to reduce reoffending, whereas others lack concrete commitments, and in some cases, do not mention important areas at all.
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Written monthly by...
Clinks' Policy Officers Franklin Barrington and Noorjehan Piperdy
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