As Clinks’ members are all aware, the policy landscape changes frequently and a wealth of important documents and reports are regularly published. Here are two updates we wanted to make you aware of this week:

Justice Select Committee publishes report on Transforming Rehabilitation

The Justice Select Committee have published the interim report from their Crime Reduction Policies inquiry that focuses on the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) proposals. Clinks submitted evidence to the inquiry and is pleased to note the report highlights; our concern as to the low numbers of voluntary sector organisations that have signed up to provide services under TR, which could lead to a narrowing of the market; our questions regarding how the current payment mechanism would incentivise the provision of services that prioritise intermediate outcomes; and our support for the MoJ’s efforts to provide greater transparency in the contractual arrangements. Clinks will continue to work on behalf of the sector to ensure voluntary sector providers under TR are treated fairly.

Read the Justice Select Committee report here and Clinks’ submission to the inquiry here.

In December 2013 Clive Martin, Director of Clinks, alongside Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, raised many of the above issues specifically in relation to small charities at the APPG on Penal Affairs. The secretariat for the APPG on Penal Affairs is provided by the Prison Reform Trust and minutes from this event are available here.

Government publishes response to Transforming Youth Custody consultation

In April 2013 Clinks responded to the Transforming Youth Custody Consultation that stated a commitment to placing education, training and employment at the heart of a Secure College System for young people in custody. Clinks recommended the Government define education in Secure Colleges as broadly as possible; recognising that young people in contact with the youth justice system also need to develop skills including resilience and self-confidence and that each Secure College develops and maintains strong links with voluntary sector organisations, many of whom deliver education services.

The MoJ have now published a response to the consultation and it is positive to see many of these recommendations have been accepted. However, it remains unclear how voluntary sector led activities will be included in the new Secure Colleges and whether arts based interventions, that often act as a pathway to more formal education, will be delivered in these institutions. Read Clinks’ submission to the consultation here and the Government’s response here.