Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 794 | 04 August 2023

Light Lunch Clinks

In this issue...

CLINKS NEWS: State of the sector survey 2023 – complete by Monday 7 August

There are only a few days left to complete the 2023 State of the sector survey.

This is your final chance to tell us about the challenges your organisation has faced over the last year and to help us influence key decision makers on your behalf and ensure that our support meets your needs. 

Thank you to all those who have completed the survey so far. We urge those who have not yet started the survey to do so before time runs out. We also encourage those who may have started the survey, but have not fully completed it, to open the survey using the same link you originally used and finish where you left off. It is vital for us to have complete responses to ensure our evidence base is robust.

Read our blog: State of the sector 2023 survey: why your response is crucial to find out more about how we use your responses and why your voice matters!

The survey closes Monday 7 August. Complete the survey today here! And share the survey on Twitter here

CLINKS VACANCY: Fundraising Officer - deadline extended

We have an exciting opportunity available for you to join us as our new Fundraising Officer. You will help support and maintain Clinks’ healthy income stream and ensure that we secure appropriate income to remain independent and impartial as we grow, progress and develop infrastructure support for criminal justice charities.

Clinks is an equal opportunities employer and individuals with direct experience of the criminal justice system and/or with protected characteristics are actively encouraged to apply. This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Clinks recruitment policy is that there is no requirement to disclose any convictions.

Applications close 9:00, 7 August. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS VACANCY: Policy and Communications Officer

Clinks has a new and exciting opportunity available for you to join as the Policy and Communications Officer. The Policy and Communications Officer will be part of the Policy and Communications team. You will help support the delivery of core policy functions.

Responsibilities include; identifying new government initiatives and policy relating to criminal justice and the voluntary sector in England and Wales, conducting desk-based research, supporting the development and operation of the policy focussed groups, networks and structures which Clinks facilitates and producing documents and briefings as part of a team. You will also be responsible for Clinks’ social media presence, planning and coordinating e-communications and website content, and provide support to Clinks’ staff in the writing and production of publications.

Clinks is an equal opportunities employer and individuals with direct experience of the criminal justice system and/or with protected characteristics are actively encouraged to apply. This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Clinks recruitment policy is that there is no requirement to disclose any convictions.

Applications close 9:00, 14 August. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS NEWS: Early Days in Custody Review

A team in the Ministry of Justice is conducting a scoping project on the Early Days in Custody Prison Service Instruction (PSI), which covers reception, first nights, and induction. The project will inform further thinking on whether a full review and update to the policy/guidance is needed. The team would welcome views from Clinks members on any issues you are aware of with current early days policy and practice, from the perspective of people in prison, providers or others. They would welcome any best practice you can share.

If you have anything to share on this topic, please email it to policy@clinks.org with the subject heading ‘Early Days in Custody Review’. We will also be arranging a focus group for later this month – please tell us whether you can attend, and let us know your availability on either the 16th or 17th of August.

CLINKS NEWS: Cross-cultural arts practice with young people

Join The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA), Clinks Area Development Officer for the North and Northumbria University [14 September, Northumbria University Newcastle, free].

The NCJAA are working alongside Clinks' Area Development Officer for the North to bring you an exciting event to bring together organisations working, or with an interest in, working with young people in criminal justice through the arts or other ways. This event is co-delivered in partnership with Northumbria University who will be sharing their latest findings following the publication of The stolen generations case study via the NCJAA website last year. We are delighted to announce that Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuiness, will provide the key note address. Book your place here

CLINKS NEWS: The impact of inflation on charities

The NCVO have shared a survey which is looking at the impact of inflation on charities delivering public services. Income from government and public bodies through grants and contracts to deliver public services makes up 26% of the voluntary sector’s income. Underfunding of these services is a longstanding problem for the sector, and it is now being exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.

This survey would take about 10 minutes to complete and is best completed by someone in your organisation who has responsibility for, or oversight of, bidding for public service contracts and grants. The survey data will be shared with Clinks and NCVO partners. The survey closes at 12:00, 1 September. Complete the survey

MEMBER FOCUS: Genius Within CIC

Genius Within CIC is committed to supporting neurodiverse adults wherever they may be in their life journey and helping their clients to achieve their potential. With support from our partners Genius Within provides mentoring, workshops and targeted support for individuals who are neurodiverse in both custodial and community rehabilitation settings. These contracts are based on their successful Memory Genius program and includes access to positive assessment, their approach to highlighting the strengths of neurodiversity. Visit Genius Within CIC

NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE ARTS ALLIANCE NEWS: mentoring scheme 2023 applications open

The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) is inviting applications for mentors and mentees to join the NCJAA professional mentoring scheme for 2023-24. The scheme provides emerging arts and criminal justice practitioners with specialist guidance and professional development through a free one-to-one mentoring relationship with an expert in the field.

For mentors, it provides the chance to give back to the arts and criminal justice sector by sharing knowledge and supporting those early in their career with professional development. The mentors and mentees will be invited to collaborate with other mentoring pairs as well as alumni from the scheme to share skills and experiences. This additional offer will be built into the programme spanning from August 2023 to February 2024.

The application deadline for both mentors and mentees is 18:00, 14 August. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: speakers of English as a second or additional language

The Bell Foundation has published a new blog on how to communicate more effectively with speakers of English as a second or additional language (ESL) in the criminal justice system.

In this blog, the Foundation explores their new training course launched earlier this year for staff working in victim support, and in prison or probation, providing a taster of what participants will learn, as well as links to a wide range of free resources and guidance. Read the blog

CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: government plans to imprison repeat shoplifters

In response to the news that the government are planning to introduce mandatory prison sentences for repeat shoplifting, Pavan Dhaliwal, Chief Executive of Revolving Doors commented, “It is remarkably short-sighted, to say the least, that the Government’s proposed solution to low-level crimes driven primarily by poverty lies in sending even more people to already chronically overcrowded prisons. Evidence has long shown that short prison sentences not only fail to address the root causes of criminal behaviour but rather exacerbate these drivers at huge cost to the individual and their families, as well as the public purse – sending someone to prison for a year costs almost £47,000 a year.

“Locking up individuals for shoplifting in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis simply ignores the underlying problems which are forcing some individuals to make desperate choices to survive. Instead, we should prioritise addressing the root causes of the crime, namely poverty, by investing in education, skills training, and employment opportunities to empower those at risk of engaging in criminal activities. Put simply, people need to be diverted to services to be supported, not processed through a justice system already on its knees.”

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Young Offenders Institutions (YOIs) urgent action

The IMB National Chair, Elizabeth Davies, has written to the Minister, Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP, to urge him to take urgent action to improve the conditions in YOIs in England. IMBs found children were subject to severely restrictive regimes, commonly spending 19 to 21 hours a day in their rooms; they were being denied access to purposeful activity and education, often caused by significant staff shortages; violence remains a problem and, in some cases, incidents were caused by the impact of restricted regimes; attempts to manage violence by keeping certain children apart was a growing issue with Feltham A attempting to manage nine different regimes; and an increasing cohort of children with complex needs which were not being met. Read more here

FUNDING: Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund

£76 million Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund launched.

On 24 July, the government announced the launch of the Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund. This is part of a package of over £100 million for charities and community organisations as set out in the 2023 Spring Budget, to support charities and community organisations in England at the frontline of dealing with the cost of living impacts.

Delivered in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, the Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF) will support organisations across England to deliver critical frontline services. Organisations will be able to apply for funding to maintain or expand critical cost of living services from now until the end of March 2024.

Find out more about the Fund’s eligibility criteria here

CLINKS MEMBER’S TRAINING:

The following training is available from Society Matters CIC:

  • Prisoners and Welfare Benefits [8 August, 10:00 - 16:00, online, £89.00] Book here
  • Get to Grips with Disability Living Allowance for Children [9 August, 10:00 - 16:00, £69.00] Book here
  • Self-Employment & Welfare Benefits Workshop [10 August, 10:00 -14:00, online, £69.00] Book here
  • Housing and Homelessness Matters [17 August, 10:00 - 16:00, online, £89.00] Book here
  • Get to Grips with Universal Credit [4 September, online, £89.00] Book here
  • Get to Grips with Personal Independence Payment [6 September, online, £89.00] Book here
  • Get to Grips with Understanding Current Welfare Benefits [12 September, online, £69.00] Book here
  • Get to Grips with Universal Credit (Advanced) [21 September, online, £89.00] Book here
  • Challenging Welfare Decisions (Advanced) [26 September, online, £89.00] Book here

RESOURCE: Counselling services for women released from custody

Choices are offering counselling services to women who have been released from custody or who are serving community sentences. They support women who are facing the challenges of child loss and separation. Choices provide 24 weeks of online or telephone counselling. Please contact postreleasecounselling@choicesislington.org to make a referral.

FEATURED VACANCY: Service Delivery Manager

Join Spark Inside as a Service Delivery Manager [£35,000FTE, part time, South East] and make a difference in the lives of young people facing challenges. You will be a highly organised and passionate individual who thrives on building relationships with young people. You will work mainly within prisons in Kent, as part of a team covering London and the South East, as well as in the community with partner organisations. Responsibilities include engaging young people in life coaching workshops, managing freelance coaches, and ensuring smooth project management. The successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional people skills, resilience, and a commitment to amplifying impact through learning and tenacity. Find out more and apply by 6 September.

CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES:

Restorative Justice Case Manager with Resolve West [£26,421 - £27,799, Bristol (Hybrid), full time]; Link Worker – Albanian community with St Giles Trust [£15,000 - £16,000, Norwich with home working potential, part time]; Care Not Custody Caseworker with Brighton Women's Centre [£26,181, Brighton, West Sussex, and East Sussex. Local travel will be expected, part time]; Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) x 3 with ADVANCE (Advocacy and Non-Violence Community Education) [£26,000 - £32,000, Various - London locations, full time]; Intervention Worker - Out of Hours with Hestia Housing & Support [£26,873, Wandsworth, full time]; Operations Manager with Hestia Housing & Support [£44,762, full time]; Communications Officer with Centre for Justice Innovation [£32,500, Kennington, London, full time]; Service Manager with Hestia Housing & Support [£39,085, Lambeth, full time]; Innovative Practice Intern with Centre for Justice Innovation [£7,528, London, full time]; Service Delivery Manager with Spark Inside [£35,000, Primarily working in prisons in South East, part time]

For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

READS OF THE WEEK:

EXTRA INFORMATION:

About Clinks Light Lunch

This edition of Light Lunch has been sent to the inbox of 13766 people working (or with an interest) in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
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