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In this month's edition...
This month, Clinks is focusing on two inquiry responses: the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry examining the future prison population, and the Welsh Affairs Committee's inquiry into prisons in Wales. Clinks will be presenting oral evidence in Parliament, contributing to the Justice Select Committee inquiry.
Our Head of Influence & Communications, Sam Julius, attended the first session of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s Expert Reference Group, in preparation for the imminent joint inspection into the quality of work undertaken with women. Additionally, Sam also attended the first session of the Ministry of Justice’s stakeholder advisory group on the re-commissioning of commissioned rehabilitative services (CRSs).
As referenced in last month’s Policy Briefing, work remains ongoing on the setting up of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group’s (RR3) Special Interest Groups (SIGs) focusing on commissioning, accommodation, employment and staffing. The Accommodation SIG – focused on mitigating the barriers to either temporary or settled accommodation faced by people leaving prison and/or with criminal records – will hold its initial evidence session on 26 October, followed by the first commissioning session on 15 November and the first employment session on 21 November.
Clinks annual conference 2023
Bookings are now open for our annual conference 2023: Making race & justice everyone's business [22 November, London, from £50].
This year our annual conference will provide a platform for our specialist members who are led by/for racially minoritised people. Our programme will allow members to share their expertise on how to best support people from racially minoritised communities, and how we can unite and commit to a future where justice is equitable. Join us to participate in a variety of sessions which will aim to inspire and influence change on an individual, organisational and wider strategic level.
Further details of the speakers and facilitators will be announced closer to the date of the conference.
Our early bird tickets are now on sale. Find out more and book your place here
Autumn Statement | HM Treasury are now accepting representations around the 2023 Autumn Statement, due to take place on 22 November. The deadline for representations is 17:00 on Friday 13 October 2023, and submissions can be made here.
Shadow Justice Team reshuffle | Appointments have been announced for the Shadow Justice Team, including Shabana Mahmood as the new Shadow Justice Secretary. Ruth Cadbury is the new Shadow Minister for Prisons, Parole and Probation, and Janet Daby has been appointed as the Shadow Minister for Youth Justice. Kevin Brennan has taken over the Shadow Victims and Sentencing brief and Alex Cunningham retains the Courts and Legal Services brief.
The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, has announced the Royal reappointment of Charlier Taylor as the Chief Inspector of Prisons for a second term of three years. His reappointment will run from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2026. Sue McAllister will replace Justin Russell and has been appointment as the interim Chief Inspector of Probation, until 1 March 2024 or when a substantive post holder is appointed.
Future prison population and estate capacity | The Justice Committee have issued a call for evidence as part of the inquiry into the projected changes to size and composition of the prison population. It will explore the implications on the capacity of the prison estate and the deliverability of the government’s current prison expansion programme, as well as the efficacy of the strategy to manage the prison population safely and effectively. The deadline to submit written evidence is 17:00 on Friday 20 October 2023.
Probation
HM Inspectorate of Probation Annual Report | HM Inspectorate of Probation has published its annual report 2022/2023, outlining findings from inspections of 31 local probation delivery units across 10 regions, as well as data and findings from recent thematic inspections. Analysis of caseload data across all probation areas show that not one element of the case supervision process was being delivered well across England and Wales, with the worst scoring area being the assessment of risks of serious harm. The needs of people on probation which underlie their offending were often not met and performance has got worse since the re-unification of the Probation Service in June 2021. Just 43% of cases inspected had their accommodation needs met, and only 29% received adequate support for drug problems. The report points to chronic staffing issues and lack of freedom and flexibility by probation leaders to deliver a localised approach.
Accommodation
Process evaluation of Offender Accommodation Pilot | The Ministry of Justice published a report on a process evaluation of the Offender Accommodation Pilot. The pilot was commissioned as part of the government’s wider Rough Sleeping Strategy, as a joint initiative with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It provided stable accommodation to adult males released from HMP Bristol, HMP Leeds and HMP Pentonville, on sentences less than 36 months, alongside wraparound support. The findings show that longer-term accommodation was used successfully when there was a commitment from both providers and the private rented sector to house people, however there were challenges around the availability of accommodation when prison leavers struggled to meet advance requirements for private rentals. Partnership working, and the provision of tailored and consistent one-to-one support was seen as a key success of the pilot by both provider staff and prison leavers.
Prison Education
Reading Education in Prisons | HM Prison and Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice have published an action plan in response to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic inspection of Reading Education in Prison - one year on. All eight recommendations have been agreed to, including ensuring that the reading skills of people in prison are properly assessed and that there are sufficient classes at the appropriate levels to improve reading skills. Future agreements include improving information sharing and collaborations with organisations like the Shannon Trust to understand people in prison’s progress.
Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics | The Ministry of Justice has published 2022 to 2023 statistics on Prison Education and Accredited Programmes in custody. The data provides an overview of initial assessments, participation, and achievement in courses, as well as analysis by level and prisoner characteristics. Findings show that 28% of people in prison who took an initial assessment had a learning difficulty/disability (LDD), confirmed by an LDD assessment. The number of people in prison who participated in courses increased by 28% from last year. The number of people starting and completing accredited programmes increased for a second year running with 4,820 starts and 4,135 course completions. The uptake and completion of accredited programmes appears to be increasing to pre-Covid levels, with programmes to address general offending remaining the largest proportion of courses taken.
Substance Misuse Treatment
Process evaluation of Drug Recovery Prison | The Ministry of Justice has published a process evaluation of the Drug Recovery Prison (DRP) at HMP Holme House, which began in 2017 as a three-year pilot funded by NHS England and HM Prison and Probation Service, aiming to address the supply and demand of substances in prison, improve treatment outcomes and support ongoing recovery. The evaluation found that the majority of the DRP was successfully implemented and had perceived improvement effects in relation to safety and security, cultural change and rehabilitation, care and wellbeing, continuity of care, and use of medications and illicit drugs. However, the report highlighted several barriers to implementation, and there was evidence to suggest that reduced drug availability in the prison encouraged alternative supply routes including trade of prescriptions drugs.
Women
Women’s Services Map | The National Women’s Justice Coalition has launched a new resource, the Women’s Services Map, which is the UK’s first directory of services for women in contact with the criminal justice system. It can be filtered by postcode as well as by specialism. If your organisation would like to be featured and currently delivers services for women and girls in contact with the criminal justice system and/or runs women’s centres in the UK, please contact here for more information.
Race
Race Equality in probation follow-up | HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published a report reinspecting the work undertaken and progress made by the Probation Service, to promote race equality for people on probation and staff. Following disappointing findings of an inspection two years ago, Chief Inspector of Probation, Justin Russell, called for a follow-up report to monitor whether recommendations had led to improvements, however he said there remains “some way to go to achieve proper equality of provision and opportunity”. The reinspection found that there is still no national strategy that sets out the expectations and plans for service delivery to racially minoritised people on probation and planning and delivery of services were worse for racially minoritised people on probation than for White people.
Action plan on Race Equality in Probation | HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has published an action plan in response to HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ follow up inspection on race equality for people on probation. HMPPS agreed or partly agreed to all eight recommendations, including developing learning programmes to enable probation staff to understand discrimination and its impact, and provide culturally competent services, as well as ensuring that racially minoritised people on probation have access to appropriate services and interventions. Development of a national race equality strategy for service delivery, was only partly agreed to, as the detailed design of the Race Disparity Unit, as part of the Professional Standards and Behaviours Group, has not yet concluded, however HMPPS reiterated its long-term commitment to racial equality.
Health
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman annual report | The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has published its annual report for 2022/23, examining 4,4472 complaints received. It concluded that the number and type of complaints received reflect the resourcing and pressures being experienced across the prison estate. It found that there were 34 more prison deaths than last year, and a number of fatal incidents involved self-neglect, an extreme lack of self-care and a category of neglect which falls under the adult safeguarding procedures in the Care Act 2014. They have recommended that HM Prison and Probation Service develop a self-neglect strategy and guidance to be used in the prison environment, as well as several recommendations in relation to health provision, emergency response and suicide and self-harm prevention.
Youth Justice
Youth Justice Board Annual Report and Accounts | The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has published is annual report and accounts for 2022 to 2023, including performance and financial data. The report acknowledges that whilst the number of children entering the youth justice system has decreased, the use of remand remains unacceptably high and average sentence lengths have increased by six months. The report outlines the activity delivered in relation to the YJB’s key areas of concern, early intervention and prevention, over-representation, exploitation, custody, resettlement and transitions and statutory functions. It also highlighted steps to improve partnership working and collaboration at a local, regional, and national level, including health and education services as well as the voluntary sector.
Representing care experienced children and young people | The Youth Justice Legal Centre has published a guide for lawyers to help reduce the over-criminalisation of care experienced children and young adults and achieve better outcomes. Produced by leading charities, lawyers and care experienced children and young adults, Dare to Care provides powerful testimony from those with lived experience, alongside the key legal framework and practical tips for criminal lawyers. It outlines the importance of identifying whether a client is care-experienced, the documents and professional support they are entitled to, the obligation of lawyers to prevent unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers, as well as guidance on how to support them from the point of arrest right through to sentencing.
Care Experience, Ethnicity and Youth Justice | Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK) has published findings from Dr Katie Hunter’s Research Fellowship project, which focused on understanding the links between care experience, ethnicity, and involvement with the youth justice system in England. Drawing some Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Department for Education (DfE) data sets, the briefing shows that care-experienced children were disproportionately likely to have youth justice involvement, with some groups of ethnic minority children even more likely, similarly, a higher proportion of care-experienced children received a custodial sentence compared with non-care-experienced children. The report recommends that the Data First Program, led by the MoJ, be extended to provide more information about care histories within data sets, as well as calling for a commitment by the MoJ and DfE to publish data using more detailed ethnicity categories.
Prisons post Wandsworth | Rob Allen has written a blog looking at the recent escape of an individual on remand at HMP Wandsworth, and whether any positive changes can arise from it. With much media and political attention around the events, Allen considers that those charged with terrorism offences may be placed in top security prisons and broader changes to the categorisation framework are likely. Reflecting on previous inquiries following escapes, including following the 1990 riot at HMP Strangeways, Allen reports on the conflicting recommendations and need for a balance between increased security and greater care and positive relationships in prisons. Failure to address the urgent issue of overcrowding will likely limit implementation of more comprehensive reform.
The central importance of reading in prisons | Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, has published a blog for World Literacy Day, highlighting the importance of teaching reading in prisons, especially during times of pressure on the service. Across many UK prisons, there has been a reduction of activities and Taylor discusses how this affects the well-being of people in prison as well as rehabilitation upon their release. Data from HMI Prisons and Ofsted’s 2022 thematic review on the teaching of reading in prison, suggests up to 50% of people in prisons are illiterate. Despite this, few received the help they needed to improve their reading. Whilst voluntary organisations like Shannon Trust are committed to improving literacy rates and access to reading, they are dependent on prison staff to enable sessions to take place.
The Greater Manchester Problem Solving Court | The Russell Webster blog has published a guest post by Fiona Deacon, Strategic lead for women for Greater Manchester Probation Service. Deacon reflects on the development and design process of the Problem Solving Court, which aims to deliver a whole system approach for women on probation. She adds that women’s centres, which provide a non-statutory trauma-informed location for women to meet and talk, are critical resources for the success of this project. Whilst resourcing issues and pressures from HM Courts and Tribunal Service have brought challenges, the project has come a long way to return to a fully operating model post pandemic. A formal evaluation in the future, will support to analyse the new model further and understand its effectiveness for women.
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This month's edition was written by...
Clinks Policy and Communications Officer, Bronte Jack
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