In this month's edition...
State of the sector 2022
Clinks has published State of the sector 2022. This report explores the landscape of the criminal justice voluntary sector as it emerged from the pandemic into an increasingly challenging operational environment. Our annual State of the sector research enables us to understand what organisations are experiencing and how developments in the criminal justice landscape and wider external environment are impacting them and their service users. Following the report's publication, Clinks' CEO, Anne Fox, chaired a meeting of Third Sector Strategic Partnership Board. Anne presented our findings and led discussion with officials, funders, and other voluntary sector representatives on how the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) could better support voluntary organisations to deliver services, and the extent to which the challenges faced by the sector also affect the MoJ and HMPPS.
Response to Welsh Parliament consultation
In November, Clinks provided a response to the Welsh Parliament Finance Committee’s consultation on the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget proposals for 2023/24, particularly focussing on whether support for the voluntary sector is sufficient. Our response draws on data from State of the sector 2022, and regular and ongoing engagement to support the sector in Wales. Clinks argued the most effective way for the Welsh Government to support the sector is through the provision of flexible, unrestricted, multi-year grant funding. While justice is not devolved, many of the drivers of contact with the criminal justice system, such as poverty relief, substance use, and accommodation, are devolved. This means the services the voluntary sector provides to people in contact with the justice system in Wales are areas in which the Welsh Government can provide support. More information about Draft Budget can be found on the Welsh Parliament website.
Civil Society Group spring budget
In January, Clinks co-signed the joint Civil Society Group Spring Budget submission 2023, which urged the government to take a number of steps to enable the voluntary sector to keep supporting communities in both the immediate and long term. These include supporting households by reducing benefit deductions; ensuring that all grants and contracts are uplifted in line with inflation and cover the true cost of delivering commissioned public services; and providing grants for charities to improve energy efficiency.
Future regime design special interest group
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) has convened a special interest group on future regime design, advising HMPPS as they develop a new National Regime Model for prisons. A second meeting of the group took place on 20 January, where voluntary sector organisations advised on what role the sector could play in the new regime. A summary note from the meeting will be available on the Clinks website in due course. The note from the first meeting in September 2022 is now available
Substance misuse treatment for adults: 2021 to 2022
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published statistics on alcohol and drug misuse treatment for adults from the National Drug Treatment and Monitoring System. These figures show there was a slight increase in the number of adults who were in contact with drug and alcohol services in 2021/22, but the number of adults entering treatment was similar to the previous two years. Nearly half the adults receiving treatment were being treated for opiate use (49%), which remains the largest substance group. Over two-thirds of adults starting treatment said they had a mental health treatment need (70%), which is part of a rising trend over the last three years. Nearly half of the people who exited treatment in 2021/22 (49%) did so having successfully completed their treatment. Read the full release here
Substance misuse treatment for young people: 2021 to 2022
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities also released figures on alcohol and drug treatment for people under 18, from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System. These show there was a 3% increase in people in contact with services in 2021/22, compared to the previous year. Cannabis remains the most common substance that young people receive treatment for (87%), and just under half of young people in treatment said they had problems with alcohol (46%). The most common vulnerability reported for young people starting treatment was early onset (before age 15) of substance use (80%), followed by polydrug use (52%). Nearly half (46%) of young people starting treatment had a mental health treatment need, and 82% of young people leaving treatment successfully completed their programme. Read the full release here
Neurodiversity action plan January 2023 update
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) updated its Neurodiversity Action Plan. NHS England’s Health and Justice team are working to improve the experiences of accessing healthcare for neurodivergent people in the criminal justice system. They are implementing the learning disability improvement standards and carrying out autism and learning difficulty benchmarking. Moreover, they are developing a network of learning disability and autism prison healthcare champions and developing neurodiversity pathways and guidance for the services it commissions. The Department for Health and Social Care is leading a cross-government Acquired Brain Injury Strategy, with an update on the publication of this in six months. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a “National Neurodiversity Training Toolkit” for staff in prison and probation. Read the update in full
Impact of Covid-19 on the Youth Custody Service (YCS)
The YCS has published its final report from research conducted in 2020 on the impact of Covid-19 on the children and young people secure estate (CYPSE). This found over three-quarters of children felt well protected and supported by public health measures and staff in custody. Over 90% of children across the CYPSE felt they had coped well, and 81% said lockdown had been “fine” for them. However, nearly half had found lockdown difficult at times, with almost a third often feeling alone, and 24% feeling more anxious at times. The research makes four recommendations, including that the YCS provides all children with opportunities for development of skills and knowledge aligned to individual needs and interests via a constructive plan, including supported learning beyond the classroom. Read the evaluation here
Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan: 2022 to 2025
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published the delivery plan for its Female Offender Strategy. The measures include ending remand for own protection solely on mental health grounds, as set out in the Draft Mental Health Act Reform Bill; expanding therapeutic services for women in custody to improve safety and reduce self-harm; providing women in custody with equivalent healthcare to care they would receive in the community, agreeing next steps for taking forward recommendations from the joint NHS England and HM Prison and Probation Service Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review; and ensuring support is in place so women leaving prison can continue receiving substance misuse or mental health treatment upon release. The MoJ will update on the plan at least every six months. Read the plan in full here
Government response on Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences
Following the Justice Committee’s report on IPP sentences in September 2022, the government has now responded to the Committee. The government rejected the Committee’s key recommendation that legislation should be brought forward to resentence all people still subject to an IPP sentence, because it argues resentencing would create an “unacceptable risk of serious harm to the public” as people would be released without assessment by the Parole Board. The government partially accepted the Committee’s recommendation that it should acknowledge the psychological harm caused by an IPP sentence and the challenges this presents to sentence progression. The government acknowledged that uncertainty over a release date can be unsettling, and said work is being done to improve access to mental health support for all people in prison. Read the response here
Housing support for drug and alcohol recovery
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have issued a press release highlighting funding being provided to 28 local authorities. This will enable those councils to create new housing support schemes tailored to meet local need to help people in drug and alcohol treatment. The government provides examples of how the funding might be spent: specialist housing caseworkers could support people in drug and alcohol treatment to access and maintain safe and suitable housing or could help people to create sustainable and long-term recovery by maintaining independent living. It argues this supports the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review, which outlined housing support as key for improving the effectiveness of drug prevention and treatment. Read the press release here
Incentivised substance free living units
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued a press release to highlight the work of its new Incentivised Substance Free Living Units, which are now operational in 45 prisons across England and Wales. The MoJ notes that people with convictions who receive treatment to stop using substances are up to 19 percentage points less likely to reoffend. The MoJ said the new wings will provide places where people are able to stop using substances, as opposed to “languishing on drug substitutes like methadone” which it argues can hinder rehabilitation. The release also points to investment in up to 18 new drug recovery wings where people in prison can receive up to six months of intensive abstinence-based treatment to stop using methadone or other drugs. Read the full press release here
Update on changes to the transgender prisoner policy framework
The Ministry of Justice has published further information on the changes to the transgender prisoner policy framework, which states that under new reforms, “transgender women with male genitalia” or those convicted of a sexual offence will no longer be held in the general women’s estate. Exemptions will be considered by Ministers in “only the most truly exceptional cases”. Transgender women currently in the women’s estate may be moved following a thorough assessment of risk. Those who are deemed unsafe in either the men’s or women’s estate can be held in a specialist unit. There is no clear timeframe for when an updated policy framework will be published, and it remains uncertain based on this information if there will be any significant changes to the current policy. Read the full article here
Farming, food, nutrition, and brain health
This unique event [8 March, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, from £25] delivered by Think Through Nutrition and FarmED explores the profound links between the farmed environment and the soil beneath our feet, with food quality and nutrition, and our own gut health, brain health and behaviour. Kimberley Wilson, author of How to Build a Healthy Brain and Unprocessed and host of the Stronger Minds podcast, will be joining us as guest speaker, alongside Emeritus Professor of Physiology John Stein of Magdalen College, Oxford. We will also hear from Suzy Dymond-White, a former prison governor who commissioned a prison nutrition pilot at HMP Eastwood Park, and Heather – a participant in the pilot, in a panel discussion chaired by Tahani Saridar, Think Through Nutrition’s CEO. Book your place here
Creative Inclusion: where education, health, and justice merge
Neurodivergent people in the criminal justice system have a variety of needs, across health, social care, and education. The aim of this event [9 March, 09.30 – 12.30, Online, Free] is to bring together voluntary sector organisations who work with neurodivergent people with commissioners, referrers, providers, and others with the aim of learning, sharing good practice and making connections. We have speakers bringing perspectives on education, health, and justice, with time for questions and discussion. Book your place here
Applying behavioural insights seminar
Can small changes make a big difference? Applying behavioural insights to public and other services with speakers from the UK Behavioural Insights Team [14 March, online, free]. The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), established in 2010, BIT works across a wide range of policy areas, including health, education and criminal justice and uses behavioural science to improve public policy and deliver better outcomes. During this free seminar Ed and Chiara will explain what 'Behavioural Insights' means and how a better understanding of human behaviour can lead to more effective policies and programmes. They will also show what this looks like in practice using BIT projects in criminal and social justice contexts. Book your free place here
Regional trauma informed network, Sheffield
Join this regional network, hosted by One Small Thing Charity, that provides an opportunity to meet and reflect with colleagues upon trauma informed work, and share insights and ideas [21 March, 14:00 – 16:30, The Circle, Sheffield, free]. The Sheffield-based Young Women’s Housing Project will share their trauma informed journey, their learning, and examples of their trauma-informed practice, plus: An overview of a trauma informed approach and how the five core values can be applied; and an opportunity to meet with others and share trauma informed practice. Book your place here
Family involvement in prison healthcare
Pact published a report on family involvement in prison healthcare, drawing on the views of 33 people with experience of supporting family members in custody. This report goes on to make 10 calls to action, including that where people in prison present with complex and/or significant mental health needs, alternative diversionary treatment should be more readily considered and should be informed by all agencies working with the person and their family. In addition, Pact calls for families’ knowledge and experience to be recognised, valued, and acted upon in the pursuit of better health outcomes. It also recommends a single point of contact for families within justice healthcare services to inform and empower family engagement in patient health and wellbeing. Read the report in full
Fatal incident investigations – Learning lessons bulletin
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) published a Learning lessons bulletin, following its investigations of post-release deaths (where a person died, excluding homicide) within 14 days of release from prison. The PPO said the acute vulnerability of those being released from prison became apparent during their investigations and more needs to be done to support people leaving prison through that process. Of the 48 deaths investigated, 24 were drug-related, two were accidents, and 10 were self-inflicted. Recommendations from these investigations included highlighting the importance of information sharing between prison and the community, especially for people who have been managed under the Prison Service self-harm prevention procedures, and around the importance of making naloxone available to people leaving prison and improving uptake of the offer. Read the bulletin here
Investigating deaths after release from prison
In relation to the above Bulletin, the PPO also published an evaluation of its post-release deaths investigation pilot. This aimed to identify lessons that could be learnt from investigating post-release deaths and the extent to which the PPO should commit to investigating these deaths. During the pilot, the PPO was notified of 68 post-release deaths and started investigations into 48 of those. Notifications skewed heavily towards other non-natural deaths, specifically drug-related deaths. The PPO issued 13 recommendations in seven investigations that reached initial report stage, and no recommendations in four investigations. Amongst considerations for further research, the PPO considers revisiting notification data with a larger sample to allow more robust analysis into the proportion of notifications received where someone is released from prison on a Friday. Read the report here
Bromley Briefings Prison Fact file: January 2023
The Prison Reform Trust published its latest Bromley Briefing. This includes a piece by Martin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Parole Board, on changes to parole. It also provides key figures on health in prison. It is estimated one in three people in prison are suffering from a serious drug addiction. On mental health, 56% of people in prison report having mental health problems, but only 32% said it was easy to see mental health workers. People also report difficulties in accessing healthcare, with only 34% saying it was easy to see a doctor. Just 48% of people in prison said the overall quality of health services was good. Inspectors found people in prison receive inequitable social care support, with quality varying between prisons. Read the briefing in full
Women’s experience of long-term imprisonment
The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) published the second briefing in its Invisible Women series, Hope, health, and staff-prisoner relationships. From discussions with women serving long sentences, prison staff, and senior managers, the briefing notes women are advocating for more gender-specific provision, and women believe prison staff, governors, and the wider prison system do not fully understand their distinct pains of long-term imprisonment. Many women are also anxious about their health, particularly how exposure to prison environments for long periods could impact it. PRT’s recommendations include for prison governors to prioritise women specific health issues, involve women in developing resources, and that the National Women’s Prison Health and Social Care Review recognise the specific experiences of all women in prison, including long-term sentenced women. Read the briefing here
The cost of gambling harms
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has published an evidence update on the economic and social cost of harms associated with gambling in England, following a 2021 review by Public Health England. This review estimated the cost of health harms, including depression, alcohol dependence, illicit drug use, and deaths from suicide to the government and wider society to be between £754 million and £1.475 billion. Depression was estimated to have the greatest cost to the government, and deaths by suicide the greatest cost to wider society. The research also estimated the excess cost to the government of imprisonment due to criminal activity at £167 million. Read the report here
Building Strong Communities Fund
The Mayor of London is offering funding for London equity-led voluntary and community sector organisations to enable communities to shape their recovery from Covid-19, through community-led projects. Projects should aim to meet one of four outcomes: Londoners are supported to shape their communities post Covid-19; unheard voices are amplified; feelings of belonging are increased; or feelings of connection within and across communities are increased. As part of this final round of the funding, they are also interested in knowing whether projects are going to address the cost-of-living crisis. Funding for this round is made up of grants of between £1,000 and £6,000, for groups with an annual turnover of up to £50,000. Applications close at 1pm on Monday 13 March. Find out more about eligible organisations and projects here.
Pilot leadership development programme
A new pilot leadership development programme for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic led charities working in criminal justice will open for tender. Barrow Cadbury Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation are looking for expressions of interest to develop and deliver a pilot leadership programme for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic leaders of voluntary and community organisations supporting those at risk of getting caught up in the CJS. Joint proposals between organisations are welcomed. The tender is a two-stage selection process. Stage one is a tender proposal, budget and two references by email. If your proposal is short listed for Stage two, a full proposal will be requested. If you are interested in tendering or would like to get more information or discuss this opportunity, contact Laurie Hunte. You can also download the full brief and bidder profile form here. The deadline for the first stage is 5pm on 27 March.
Against criminal punishment as retribution
Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, has written a blog for Revolving Doors about criminal punishment as retribution. She notes that everyone, including victims, want less crime and for the harm done to be healed. However, she argues this cannot be done through the criminal justice system because most criminal sanctions are purely punitive. Instead, Gibbs makes the case for better meeting victims’ needs. She believes that this cannot be done solely through the court system, and instead victims should be offered restorative justice and the drivers of crime should be tackled, including poor mental health, poor education, poor housing, domestic abuse, and poverty. By doing this, Gibbs believes we will be able to reduce crime and reoffending. Read the blog here
Support for people on remand
Clinks’ Senior Policy Officer, Olivia Dehnavi, has written a blog about the Justice Committee’s report on the use of adult custodial remand, to which Clinks submitted evidence. She explores Clinks’ recommendations alongside those of Committee. The Committee reflected Clinks’ concerns little is know about people on remand, and it calls for more data to be collected and published on remand defendants, particularly around reasons for refusing bail and demographic information, including vulnerabilities and protected characteristics. The blog also notes voluntary organisations, even if not specifically funded to work with unsentenced populations, do their best to provide services to people on remand. The Committee’s other recommendations include making greater use of community alternatives to custodial remand and an independent review of the legislation governing custodial remand. Read the blog here
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