Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 942 | 24 July 2026

Light lunch

 

In this issue...

 

This is your last chance to apply! Clinks is seeking a senior leader from the voluntary sector to sit on the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) as the seat holder for organisations led by and focused on racially minoritised people. The RR3 builds a stronger and more effective partnership between the voluntary sector and the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service. The successful candidate will be a senior leader at a voluntary organisation that is both led by and supports racially minoritised people involved in the criminal justice system, and will be able to reflect the reality of delivering support services for racially minoritised individuals. This is a voluntary role. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held online during the week of 20 July. Don’t miss this opportunity! [Deadline: Monday 13 July 2026 at 17:00]

To apply, send a CV and covering letter outlining your reasons for applying and how you meet the person specification to lisa.chandler@clinks.org 

Find out more here

The Ministry of Justice has now launched a new consultation exploring options to introduce independent regulation of probation practitioners.

The consultation seeks views on introducing independent statutory regulation for probation practitioners to strengthen professional standards, public confidence and accountability across the probation workforce. It asks for feedback on the potential model, functions and scope including the minimum requirements, frequency and mechanism for maintaining registration, ensuring ongoing professional competence and development and fitness to practice processes and referrals. The deadline to respond to this consultation is at 11:59PM on Thursday 8th October.

Clinks will be hosting an array of exclusive opportunities to input into the consultation, including a roundtable in September, and options to submit a written contribution to our collective response. More details on these opportunities will be shared in due course. We would encourage any individuals or organisations with experience in working with probation practitioners to prepare their own submissions as well.

If you have any questions about the consultation or would like to express your interest in contributing to our collective response, please contact our Specialist Policy officer, Lisa Chandler (lisa.chandler@clinks.org).

In a new guest blog for Clinks, The Bell Foundation explores the profound impact of language barriers on people in prison who are new to English or in the early stages of English language learning. The blog highlights how these barriers can cause individuals to become invisible, excluded, disadvantaged, and disempowered, often leading to isolation and poor mental health. It also provides practical steps that prison staff can take to support those affected, including familiarising themselves with available language support and adjusting their communication style. The Bell Foundation has launched a free, one-hour, on-demand course to help staff communicate more effectively with people in prison who speak English as an Additional Language.

Read the blog and access the course here

The Independent Review of the Prison System, led by Amber Rudd, has launched a call for evidence seeking views on the biggest risks facing the prison system and the main opportunities to improve outcomes over the next 5 to 15 years. The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2026. Clinks is coordinating two roundtable discussions to help the voluntary sector contribute to this review. Drawing on frontline experience, service user and lived experience insight, and data, discussions will inform a shared sector submission to help amplify voluntary sector voices. Both sessions will cover the same content, so you only need to attend one. To secure a place, contact Clinks Specialist Policy Officer Lisa Chandler at lisa.chandler@clinks.org 

[Wednesday 12 August 2026 | 10:00 to 11:30 | Online | Free]

[Monday 24 August 2026 | 14:00 to 15:30 | Online | Free]

Register for the 12 August session here

MEMBER FOCUS: Family Gateway

Family Gateway is a community-based charity operating from Howdon Community Hub in the North East, delivering a range of services including family support, youth provision, health and wellbeing coaching, and training and employability programmes. Central to its approach is the “Barefoot Professional” model, whereby staff are drawn from the communities they serve and bring lived experience, enabling strong relationships and sustainable impact. The organisation works closely with local partners and statutory agencies, including Northumbria Police and probation services, and takes a whole-family approach to reducing anti-social behaviour and supporting those at risk of offending. Family workers support households where social services are involved or at risk of involvement, including families affected by parental involvement in the criminal justice system or imprisonment.

Find out more about Family Gateway here

Find out more about Howdon Community Hub here

User Voice has launched Voices from the Shadows, a new project for 18 to 25-year-olds with experience of a sibling in prison. The project creates a supportive community where young people can connect, build confidence and help develop a digital resource for other siblings, families and services affected by imprisonment. Young siblings are often overlooked and may experience stigma, isolation and emotional challenges. Participants will receive training in confidence, resilience and healthy coping strategies, regular peer-support sessions online and in person, vouchers for participation, support with communication and reconnection with siblings in prison, and the opportunity to co-create a digital toolkit to support others.

Refer or find out more here

After three years as Chief Executive, Christopher Stacey will be leaving Prisoners Abroad towards the end of September to take up the role of Chief Executive at Advocate, the national charity finding free legal help from barristers. Following his departure, Zeta MacDonald, currently Deputy Chief Executive, will serve as Interim Chief Executive while the trustees oversee arrangements for the appointment of a permanent successor. Christopher said: “After careful reflection, I feel this is the right time for me to take on a new challenge which connects strongly with my longstanding commitment to the law and access to justice. I am grateful for everything I have learned during my time at Prisoners Abroad.”

Read more here

Sistah Space, the UK’s only specialist domestic abuse charity for Black women of African and Caribbean heritage, has published a statement calling on the British government to fulfil its consular obligations to Isabel Rose, a 25-year-old British woman from Hackney. Isabel reported rape to Hong Kong police in January 2024; the man she accused was released without charge, and she was subsequently arrested, charged with blackmail and perverting the course of public justice, and convicted. She is currently held in Tai Lam Correctional Institution awaiting sentencing, and faces up to seven years in prison. Sistah Space is calling on the government to monitor her welfare in custody and stand with her family, and is urging people to write to their MP.

Read the statement here

The Ministry of Justice is hosting a session to introduce the forthcoming Women’s Early Testing: Learning Study, which is being delivered as part of the Community Support Programme. The study responds to feedback from providers and regional teams gathered throughout the CRS contract and market engagement activity, which highlighted ongoing challenges in supporting women released out of area, as well as complexities within the custody model, including prison-based and in-reach delivery, and partnership working across services. The session will introduce the early testing approach and provide an opportunity for discussion and questions. [Monday 11 August 2026 | 10:00 to 11:15 | Online | Free]

Register here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Prime Minister pauses early prisoner release scheme

New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced an urgent review and pause of the Sentencing Act 2026 early release scheme. The scheme, which was due to see a significant number of prisoners released after serving one third of their sentence from September 2026, has been paused. The decision follows a recent request for a review of the scheme by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, and the Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE. The review will be conducted urgently and will take into account the ability to safely manage the release scheme and ensure public protection. 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: HM Inspectorate of Probation Annual Report 2025-26

HM Inspectorate of Probation has published its first ever combined annual report covering probation, youth justice, and approved premises inspections. Chief Inspector Martin Jones has called for “urgent and focused action”, highlighting that probation services are “hamstrung” by public protection work. The report identifies consistent themes of workforce instability, high workloads, and poor multi-agency information sharing. Staff shortages are described as the most pervasive issue found across almost every approved premises inspected. National findings from the adult inspection programme, which was paused in late 2025 to focus on public protection, are due in September 2026.

Read the report here

FUNDING: B&Q Foundation: Home Improvement Grants

The B&Q Foundation is offering grants of up to £10,000 to UK registered charities for projects that improve homes for people experiencing financial hardship, health challenges, disability, homelessness or other forms of disadvantage. The current application window is now open. [Deadline: 6pm on Friday 14 August 2026]

Find out more here

Funding: The Fat Beehive Foundation: grants for hard-to-fund charities

The Fat Beehive Foundation offers a limited number of grants of up to £2,500 to small UK registered charities that are hard to fund, including those supporting prisoners, refugees or disadvantaged young people. [Deadline: Wednesday 20 September 2026]

Find out more here

Funding: The Giving Machine: Community Grants

The Giving Machine is offering unrestricted micro-grants of £250 to UK not-for-profit organisations to support small-scale local initiatives. Funding can be spent flexibly without strict reporting requirements. [Deadline: Friday 31 July 2026]

Find out more here

PUBLICATION: Reducing deaths among prison leavers

Nacro has published a new report highlighting that one person dies every day in the year after leaving prison. Between 2019 and March 2025, 2,447 people died within a year of release. Someone leaving prison today is 72% more likely to die within two weeks of release than in 2019/20, with drug-related deaths accounting for 40% of all deaths and having doubled since 2019. A third of people who die within two weeks of release were homeless. The report recommends offering opioid substitution therapy on the day of release, setting a national standard for naloxone distribution, ensuring GP registration, and developing a joint plan to halve prison leaver homelessness.

Read the report here

The Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR) and Revolving Doors have published a new report based on interviews with 131 people who had been involved in criminal or family court proceedings in the previous three years. The research found that long-standing mistrust is entrenched through court encounters, especially among minoritised ethnic groups. Participants felt “processed” rather than listened to, describing proceedings as intimidating and “cold”. The report makes 17 recommendations, including co-designing services with people with lived experience, adopting a problem-solving approach, and reducing legal jargon.

Read the report here

PUBLICATION: Children and Policing in England and Wales

A new Nuffield Foundation-funded research project by the University of Nottingham and King’s College London has examined children’s experiences of police contact and detention. The research highlights that 58,000 children are arrested and detained by police each year (equivalent to 160 children every day), but only a third will be charged or receive an out-of-court resolution. The report notes that many police contacts arise from welfare issues rather than criminal behaviour, and recommends introducing a 12-hour maximum detention period for children, replacing the current 24-hour standard.

Read more here

PUBLICATION: Resetting the approach to women’s imprisonment: a case for change

The Prison Reform Trust has published a new report exploring why progress on reducing the number of women in prison has stalled and setting out the steps needed to achieve lasting reform. Drawing on extensive consultation with stakeholders, practitioners, policymakers, and women with lived experience, the report outlines practical recommendations for reducing women’s imprisonment and strengthening community-based responses. It highlights both the opportunities created by recent developments in women’s justice policy and the importance of sustained leadership, investment, and implementation if progress is to be achieved.

Read the report here

Family Practitioner (Female Only) with The Nelson Trust [£27,000, Gloucester, Part Time]; Early Help for Adults Navigator with Back on Track [£30,692, Manchester City Centre (Ancoats), Full Time]; Operations Manager, Prison Services with ADVANCE (Advocacy and Non-Violence Community Education) [£35,340–£40,920, Peterborough/Ashford, Full Time]; Projects & Operations Coordinator with The Irene Taylor Trust [£26,000–£28,000, Shoreditch, London (hybrid), Part Time]; Keyworker (Female Only) – HMP Eastwood Park with The Nelson Trust [£27,000–£28,500, HMP Eastwood Park, Full Time]; Trustee with My Life [Remote (office in Suffolk), Part Time]; Senior Admissions Support Worker with The Nelson Trust [£29,000–£30,500, Stroud, Full Time]; Administration and Operations Officer with Birth Companions [£29,349, London and Home based, Part Time]; Future Focused Team Specialist Caseworker with St Giles Trust [£28,729, Camberwell (with travel across London), Full Time]; Policy Lead (HEO) with IMB Secretariat [£40,014, Canary Wharf, London, Full Time].

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

READS OF THE WEEK:

EXTRA INFORMATION:

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