In this month's edition...
Clinks held its ‘In Conversation with Amy Rees and Phil Copple’ event at the beginning of May, which saw the senior leaders of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) speak to Clinks CEO, Anne Fox, about recent government activity and answer questions from the voluntary sector. Topics covered at this event included funding and the impacts of the efficiency and savings review, future commissioning, the One HMPPS programme, developments around the Race Action Plan, vetting, supporting and sustaining resettlement, staff recruitment and retention in the criminal justice sector, and relationships between the voluntary sector and frontline prison and probation staff.
Clinks has been meeting with organisations to discuss our three core projects as part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance. The first is a project exploring inequalities in mental and physical healthcare for racially minoritised men in the criminal justice system, focusing on three areas: epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorders and neurodiversity (including traumatic brain injury). The second focuses on health and wellbeing for older people in the criminal justice system. The third project will look at social prescribing for people in and leaving prison. If you are working in any of these areas, we want to hear from you! Please contact Rachel Tynan, Influence and Policy Manager, or Olivia Dehnavi, Senior Policy Officer.
Following the resignation of Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP as Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for Justice, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of the Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State. Mr Chalk moves to the role from the Ministry of Defence, but he was previously a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Solicitor General, and a member of the Justice Committee. Following his appointment, Anne Fox has written to Mr Chalk to welcome him to his role and highlight the experience and expertise of the criminal justice voluntary sector.
Major conditions strategy: call for evidence
The Department of Health and Social Care is calling for evidence on how to prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the six major groups of health conditions that most affect the population in England. These are: cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal disorders. The views and ideas gathered will inform the priorities and actions in the major conditions strategy. This call for evidence builds on from the calls for evidence last year on cancer and mental health. The consultation closes on 27 June. Respond to the consultation here.
Release of accessibility and inclusion guidance
In partnership with the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, Good Things Foundation have released Accessibility and Inclusion Guidance to support you to communicate in a way that is accessible to as many people as possible. The guidelines support organisations to produce communications that are easier to read for people with conditions such as a learning disability, a mental health problem, or mobility issues. It brings together advice and guidance from organisations who have experience in supporting inclusion and accessibility. Read the guidance here.
Latest criminal justice statistics published
The Ministry of Justice published statistics covering safety in custody and in the children and young people’s secure estate (CYPSE). In the 12-month period to March 2023, there were 322 deaths in prison custody, a 12% increase from the previous 12 months. Of these, 82 deaths were self-inflicted, a 4% increase from the previous year. The number of self-harm incidents in prison rose 3% in the year to December 2022, with the rate of self-harm incidents per 1,000 people increasing 36% in female establishments and decreasing 9% in male establishments. The annualised rate of self-harm per 100 children and young people in the CYPSE rose 176% in the months October to December 2022, compared to the same quarter last year.
24-hour support line for those living with neurodivergent conditions
The Welsh Government has announced a 24-hour support and advice line for families living with autism and other neurodivergent conditions, as part of an expansion of the Community Advice Listening Line. Staff will receive additional training on neurodivergence from the National Autism Team to signpost neurodivergent individuals, their families and friends to helpful literature or service information. The initiative forms part of the Welsh Government’s efforts to deliver on its commitment to improve service and support for neurodivergent people. Read more here.
Trauma-informed approaches to supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published an independent rapid evidence assessment (REA) as part of the evaluation of its Changing Futures Programme. The REA summarises evidence on the benefits of adopting a trauma-informed approach to support people experiencing multiple disadvantage, as well as considering what factors can enable or prevent a service from working in this way. It highlights problems such as the lack of an agreed definition of a trauma-informed approach, and commissioning models based on payment by results. To support the design and delivery of trauma-informed services, the report suggests joint-commissioning and applying a trauma-informed lens. Read the full REA here.
Contribute to research on disease management in English prisons
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is conducting research to better understand health equity and infectious disease management (e.g. blood-borne viruses) across prisons in England. They are looking to speak with a range of people, both men and women, who have interacted with the criminal justice system, and who can tell them about their experiences of healthcare in prison and upon release. The research findings from this work will inform UKHSA’s public health guidance for people in prisons, probation settings and the community. Those involved will receive £50 as a thank you for taking part, and the interview is strictly anonymous and confidential. To take part, get in touch with Rosa Rosa Grossman, Senior Design Researcher – Revealing Reality +44 (0)20 7735 8040 rosa.grossman@revealingreality.co.uk
Mental Health and Homelessness Conference
Homeless Link is hosting their Mental Health and Homelessness Conference which aims to bring together homeless practitioners to share solutions and to discuss collaborative working to drive change. The event [19 June, 10:00, London or online, in-person from £125 or online £45] will see attendees hear from three keynote plenaries, highlighting the need for joint working across the mental health and homelessness sectors. It aims to offer an understanding of mental health legislation as well as discussing psychologically informed approaches and sharing best-practice examples of effective mental health support for people experiencing, and at risk of, homelessness. Book your place here.
Third Sector Stakeholder Events
Clinks is hosting a series of in-person events in partnership with the His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Third Sector Partnerships and Programmes Team. The events [6 June, 11:00, Birmingham, free] and [6 June, 10.30, Manchester, free] are two of the upcoming regional Third Sector Stakeholder events taking place and aim to gather feedback from voluntary sector members on HMPPS’ Third Sector Partnership Approach. The event will provide an opportunity to engage with regional HMPPS colleagues and hear about the upcoming Innovation Grants programmes. Book your place for the Birmingham event here, and the Manchester event here.
Embedding VSCE sector organisations into Integrated Care Systems
An independent report commissioned by the NHS England Voluntary Partnership Team and written by The King’s Fund has been published, exploring barriers to embedding the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector within Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). These include commissioning, service design and delivering, information sharing and sustainable investment and funding. The report outlines key actions which contribute to these barriers, as well as ways of working to help mitigate them. The report is also supported by a framework resource which outlines an array of approaches which others have adopted to address barriers and a series of case studies from different ICSs. Read the full report here, and the framework here. Those without a FutureNHS account can either self-register to the platform if they have an nhs.net or nhs.uk email account, or directly request access by emailing here.
Women’s experience of safety and access to justice
The End Violence Against Women Coalition published a report revealing how public bodies are failing to comply with obligations under the Equality Act 2010 when interacting with survivors facing communication barriers. Responses to the call for evidence included that more than half the survivor respondents had experienced police failures to communicate at an appropriate level or make reasonable adjustments; nearly half were not informed about the process or their rights after contacting the police to report abuse or violence, and 44% had prior experience of discrimination from the police. Recommendations include that the police and other criminal justice agencies should ensure all resources are produced in accessible formats and available in other community languages. Read the full report here.
Women sent to prison solely on mental health grounds
In National Mental Health Awareness week, the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) drew attention to the high level of mental health need and self-harm incidents in women’s prisons. They found that a number of women are still being sent to prison as a “place of safety” under the Mental Health Act or for their “own protection” under the Bail Act. Though there are currently proposals to change this, the number of mentally unwell women held in prisons under these provisions has increased. The IMB found that where they existed, both inpatient and specialist facilities in women’s prisons were often full due to high levels of mental health need. The need for prison staff to care for the complex needs of these women has exacerbated staffing shortages. Read the report here.
Lived experience of gambling, gambling-related harms, and crime within racially minoritised communities
The Howard League for Penal Reform has published a report based on interviews and focus groups utilising peer researchers. It found participants had a range of pathways into gambling and gambling-related harm including growing up around gambling, migrating to the UK and the role of assimilating to a different culture, and the role of gambling as a means of hope in relation to addressing socio-economic disadvantage and escapism from their wider lives. Participants also disclosed having committed a range of offences related to gambling, and their experiences of the criminal justice system illustrated a lack of understanding of gambling-related harm and inadequate provision of support. The report’s recommendations include the need for clearer national and local strategies in relation to racially minoritised communities and their experiences of gambling-related harms. Read the findings here.
Lack of access to a GP for prison leavers
Nacro has published a new report highlighting the barriers faced by people coming out of prison in accessing healthcare. The research examined responses from more than 50 GP surgeries and found that 66% require proof of address and 41% stated that they require both proof of address and ID to register. People in prison often have greater health problems than the wider population, and the transition from prison to community can exacerbate potential gaps in the continuity of care or treatment. The report outlines six recommendations to improving healthcare access including calling on NHS England to take steps to ensure that all GP receptionists and practice managers receive Inclusion Health training so that they are aware of their responsibilities to register patients with no fixed address, no ID, or no proof of immigration status. Read the full report here.
Exploring health and VCFSE partnerships between 2020- 2022
FaithAction, a member of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance, has recently launched a new report: Challenge, innovation, friendship. Exploring health and VCFSE partnerships between 2020- 2022: What we’ve learned and where we go next. Through carrying out interviews with representatives from Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, as well as representatives from the NHS and wider public sector bodies, the report explores how many partnerships were born out of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It reflects on what was learnt during this process, and how this has shaped approaches to health and VCFSE partnership working beyond. It examines the key themes and challenges to partnership working that emerged during this period and closes by highlighting recommendations for both health system partners and grassroots VCFSE organisations to promote better partnership working in the future. Read more here.
Experiences of men who access NHS Talking Therapies from prison
The Office for National Statistics published a report analysing the experiences of people in prison who accessed NHS England’s Talking Therapies (formerly known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies or IAPT) from April 2018 to March 2020. The analysis explores demographic characteristics, service experience and treatment outcomes. Data showed that the average wait time from referral to first appointment contact was 32 days, and of the referrals that were assessed but not treated, 52% were suitable but declined treatment, but 92% of those that moved into treatment completed it. 51% of men referred did not have an ethnicity category recorded, and of those that did the most common category was the White ethnic group. For patients that completed treatment with eligible data for depression and anxiety, 70% were classed as making a “reliable improvement”. Read the full analysis here.
Impact of children’s social care involvement on women’s health and wellbeing
Birth Companions held a virtual learning event sharing insights from their recent project for the Tommy’s and Sands Maternity Consortium, exploring the impact of children’s social care involvement on women’s health and wellbeing. The event showed how women’s experience of children’s social care assessment can have a negative impact on their antennal and postnatal care, and that their mental, physical and wellbeing needs are largely invisible in health and social care policy and guidance. Birth Companions sought to explore these themes in greater depth and amplify the voices of women who experience health inequalities linked to complex social factors, trauma, stigma and discrimination, and to enable some of those women to shape national and local policymaking and delivery. The recording of this event is now available online here.
A guide to non-policing solutions to serious youth violence
Authored by a coalition of nine organisations, a new guide; Holding Our Own, outlines a framework to tackling youth violence, by investing in young people and communities as opposed to policing as a response to social problems. The report makes several demands, including calls for immediate action to dismantle harmful practices in traditional mental health systems as well as the decriminalisation of all drugs, and the reinvestment of resources into trauma services, mental health counselling and harm reduction services. It states that reforming the UK’s drug policies “can and must be” a key step towards addressing state violence and the reallocation of criminal justice resources to well-funded, well-staffed and specialist health and welfare services will address the root cause of crime and violence and prevent future harm. Read the guide here.
Nobody’s Listening - a guest blog
Andy Keen-Downs, CEO of Pact, has written a guest blog for Clinks which highlights the crucial role that family and carers play in supporting people in prison who are suffering from poor mental or physical health. Pact’s report; Nobody’s Listening, found that Involving family and carers more proactively in prison healthcare would help to deliver safer prisons, reduce reoffending and save taxpayers’ money. Read the blog here.
Drug Reform crucial to address racism in the UK
Revolving Doors published a blog by Senior Legal Adviser and solicitor, Phillipa Gelland, and Legal Caseworker and human rights specialist, Aminah Chowdury, from the leading drugs organisation Release. Exploring how the UK’s current drug policy acts as a driver of systemic racism, Gelland and Chowdury call for a harm-reduction approach rather than criminalisation. They advocate for a decriminalisation model, adding that drug laws should focus on alleviating structural inequalities, such as redirecting policing funds to public health interventions. They conclude by offering suggestions that an effective decriminalisation model must include the involvement of people who use drugs in decision making, the removal of punishment for personal possession, meaningful thresholds for permitted possession, expungement of criminal records as well as an implementation for those under 18. Read the blog here.
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