In this month's edition...
Stay up-to-date
Clinks' main priority over recent weeks has been supporting the voluntary sector working in criminal justice during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have taken a number of steps in response to Covid-19 and are working closely with government officials in a number of areas. This is a rapidly changing situation. To stay updated on the latest information about the impact of Covid-19 on the criminal justice system and our work to support and advocate for the voluntary sector through this, keep an eye on our dedicated webpage. This webpage also signposts to a range of sources of support for voluntary organisations. See the webpage here
Covid-19 response grants programme now open
Voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system can apply now for grant funding to support their vital work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clinks is pleased to be distributing £275,000 on behalf of Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice in recognition of the continued challenges presented to voluntary organisations at this time. Organisations with an annual income of less than £500,000 can apply for an average grant size of £3,000 - £5,000. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis - organisations will receive feedback, be told the decision within 10 days, and if successful, receive payment two weeks later. Find out more and apply here
Update on Covid-19 in prisons
The Minister for Prisons and Probation, Lucy Frazer MP, has given an update on measures introduced to contain the spread of Covid-19 in prisons. The update follows new modelling by Public Health England (PHE) and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) that indicates prisons are successfully limiting deaths and transmission within the estate. The new modelling shows that reducing the prison population by 5,000 could be effective in limiting the spread of the virus. Through wide measures, the population has already reduced by almost 3,000 over a seven-week period. HMPPS is also containing the spread of Covid-19 in prisons through ‘compartmentalisation’, where staff isolate those with symptoms, and many prisons have been able to shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. Read the full update here
Funding boost to steer more women away from crime
As part of the Ministry of Justice’s work to deliver on the Female Offender Strategy, the Ministry of Justice has announced a funding pot of £2.5million for community services across England and Wales which support women at risk of being drawn into crime. The funding will be awarded later this year. Allocation will involve the directors of each regional probation area assessing which types of service are most needed. This could include services focusing on domestic abuse support, substance misuse and alcohol rehabilitation or which work with a particular group such as black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women or women in a specific age range. The regional probation directors will evaluate bids and make funding recommendations to the Ministry of Justice. Read more here
First Residential Women’s Centre in Wales
Linked to the announcement above, Wales has been chosen for the government’s first Residential Women’s Centre – an alternative to custody that is focused on rehabilitation for women convicted of low-level crime. The first Residential Women’s Centre in Wales will provide accommodation for women with complex needs who would otherwise be sentenced to custody. It will offer services which tackle the underlying causes of offending, such as substance misuse and mental health problems, and enable Welsh women to stay closer to home, benefitting their children and wider family ties - which are known to be key to reducing reoffending. The Ministry of Justice will now work with the Welsh Government and partners in Wales, with the aim of opening the centre by the end of next year. Read more here
Evidence session on the ageing prison population
The Justice Committee held their final evidence session on the ageing prison population. The first panel heard evidence from Graham Beck, Governor of HMP Wymott; Alan Cropper, lead manager for work with older prisoners at HMP Wymott; and Steve Bradford, Prison Group Director for the Women’s Estate. The second panel saw the Committee question Minister for Prisons and Probation, Lucy Frazer MP, CEO of HMPPS Dr Jo Farrar, and Director of NHS England Health and Justice Kate Davies CBE. Issues discussed included measures to protect older prisoners from Covid-19, a national strategy for older prisoners, the definition of ‘older’ within the prison estate, and commissioning of health and social care services for older people in prison. Clinks submitted written evidence to the original call for evidence. Watch the session here
‘Sobriety tags’ come into force
Legislation to allow courts to require people to wear ‘sobriety tags’ as part of their community sentence has come into force. The government has said that there will be a national roll-out of the scheme this coming winter. People who have committed a crime where alcohol is seen as a contributing factor can be given a tag for up to 120 days where their alcohol consumption is monitored through perspiration. Tags won’t be used on people who are alcohol-dependent. Read more here
Prison mental health care in England
The Centre for Mental Health has launched a call for evidence for a NHS England/Improvement commissioned review to guide the future of prison mental health care in England, and are seeking short statements of written evidence (no more than 1000 words). Since this review was commissioned the nation has been struck by the Covid-19 outbreak, therefore the review will have a focus on Covid-19 and mental health in prisons. They are particularly interested in evidence on how far mental health support in prisons is currently meeting need, examples of good practice, areas for further development and improvement, and how needs are likely to change in future and the implications for prison health services. Clinks will be responding to this call for evidence. More information can be found here
Clinks Health and Justice Network meeting
Clinks is holding the second in a series of virtual health and justice network meetings [1 June | online | free] to understand the continuing and evolving impact of Covid-19 on voluntary sector organisations delivering health and care services to people in contact with the criminal justice system. The meetings are aimed at voluntary sector organisations who are Clinks members and deliver health and care services to people in the criminal justice system. The aim of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for organisations to come together to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on: service delivery, service users, and contract and grant requirements during these challenging circumstances. Read more here
Clinks annual conference: new date set
Clinks’ annual conference will now take place online and in two parts [29th June | online | free]. The first part of the conference will take place on 29th June. When we decided our theme for this year’s annual conference, we didn’t know how prescient it would be. It now feels more important than ever to come together, share good practice and talk about navigating our way through the current crisis. We’ve planned our virtual conference in two parts, the first at the end of June and the second at the end of September. Part one will be dedicated to managing your organisation during the Covid-19 crisis, and supporting your staff and service users. Part two will be focused on regrouping and recovery. Read more here
Covid-19 population management strategy for prisons
The Ministry of Justice, Public Health England (PHE) and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have published an interim assessment on the Covid-19 population management strategy for prisons, assessing various population management strategies implemented in prisons. The briefing states that PHE have worked closely with HMPPS and NHS England to enhance social distancing, protect the most vulnerable, and increase compartmentalisation in prisons. PHE’s modelling suggests that maintaining these measures will have a significant impact on the risk of infection in prison populations. Current data suggests that once containment of a specific outbreak in a prison is achieved, new infections are driven primarily by new receptions and possibly by infected staff working in prisons. The briefing states while the current situation is cause for cautious optimism, significant threat levels remain. Read here
Short scrutiny visits to young offender institutes
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspectorate of Prisons has published a report on short scrutiny visits to three young offender institutions (YOIs) holding children: Cookham Wood, Parc, and Wetherby. The key issues reported on were safety, care, purposeful activity and resettlement. The report found that actions were taken by managers at all sites to ensure children were held safely, including significant regime restrictions due to Covid-19. However, there were areas of concern in variation between the three establishments, on issues including the amount of time out of cells, and social distancing. There were also concerns around mental health service provision for a critical few children, and a scaling back of secondary mental health services. Read the report here
Safety in custody statistics
The Ministry of Justice has published statistics reporting on deaths in custody up to March 2020 and assaults and self-harm in custody up to December 2019. In the 12 months to March 2020, there were 286 deaths in prison custody, a decrease of 10% from 317 deaths the previous 12 months. Of these, 80 deaths were self-inflicted, an 8% decrease from the 87 self-inflicted deaths in the previous 12 months. However, self-harm incidents reached a record high of 63,328 incidents in the 12 months to December 2019, up 14% from the previous 12 months. Self-harm trends differ considerably by gender, with a rate of 650 incidents per 1,000 prisoners in male establishments compared to a rate of 3,130 per 1,000 prisoners in female establishments. Read the full publication here
Coronavirus: Q&A for friends and family of prisoners
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service have updated their question and answer resource for friends and families of people in prison. Updates include the provision of additional guidance to prisons around supporting people at risk of harming themselves, and access to essential and support services such as the Samaritans through the prison landing, in-cell and handset pin phones. It has also been stated that people in prison will not be kept in past their release date, all non-essential transfers of prisoners have ceased, and that additional phone sets have been issued to all prisons that do not currently have in-cell telephony installed. Read the Q&A here
Offending behaviour programmes and interventions
The Ministry of Justice has published guidance on offending behaviour programmes and interventions that are currently available for people in contact with the criminal justice system in England and Wales. The guidance includes a list of Correctional Services Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP) currently accredited programmes. The list includes both voluntary sector and statutory services, focusing on issues such as substance and alcohol misuse, and behavioural therapy. Read the guidance here
Government funding for charities during Covid-19
The National Lottery Community Fund is distributing funding on behalf of the government to support communities through Covid-19. £200m is available for small to medium organisations in England. Organisations can apply for funds to cover spending for up to six months after the award. The fund will prioritise: organisations supporting people and communities who experience disproportionate challenge as a result of the crisis (including those supporting older people, disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities); organisations providing support for vulnerable people, for which there will be increased demand (including those working with homeless people and those supporting vulnerable children and young people); and organisations which connect communities and support working together. Applications will be assessed in the order they are received. More information here
Social welfare projects
The Rhododendron Trust is offering grants of up to £1,000 to support social welfare projects in the UK. The Trust wishes to support those disadvantaged by disability or mental illness (such as those suffering from epilepsy or autism), and regularly support charities which work with people in contact with the criminal justice system, people with substance misuse issues, and people experiencing homelessness. Applications can be made at any time and will be considered once a year. More information is available here
How prisons and probation will ease lockdown
In the same way as the government has started to outline its plans for the gradual lifting of the lockdown restrictions, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has also taken the first steps towards informing staff and service users of the likely road ahead. HMPPS has made it clear that the temporary regimes with most prisoners restricted to their cells for most of the day are likely to remain largely unchanged in the short-term and that restrictions in prisons will be lifted at a slower pace than in broader society. Read more here
Adapting to a new environment
Clinks’ Policy Officer Lauren Nickolls has written a blog outlining key findings from Clinks’ most recent bi-weekly survey on the impact of Covid-19 on the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system. The survey found that organisations are embracing remote ways of working, turning to telephone and video conference to keep in contact with those they support, running telephone advice lines, providing virtual group sessions, and sending resource packs to people in prison. However, despite the flexibility of the sector and the adaptations organisations have made, 61% say that their service provision has decreased and a further 18% have had to stop services completely. Worryingly, 40% of respondents say they have had to use their reserves due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the blog here
Details of the early prison release scheme
We’ve published two blogs with details of the government's End of Custody Temporary Release (ECTR) scheme to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in prisons, and official guidance on Through the Gate (TTG) services for this cohort of prisoners. Although the number of prisoners released under the ECTR scheme is relatively modest so far, HMPPS remains committed to the initiative and has invested a great amount of time and resources in planning for its successful implementation. Prisoners released under ECTR are still serving a prison sentence and, consequently, are not subject to probation supervision. However, they are still eligible for TTG support. Read more on the ECTR here and TTG services here
Criminal justice organisations' response to Covid-19
Russell Webster has been publishing a series of blogs on responses to Covid-19 in the criminal justice system from voluntary, statutory and private organisations. The blog series has looked at how voluntary sector organisations including Nacro, Fine Cell Work, Switchback and Beyond Recovery are supporting their service users through the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as how to parole board is adapting to social distancing measures. You can read the blog series here
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This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the health and care of people in the criminal justice system. It currently has 2,428 subscribers.
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