Dear colleagues,
State of the Sector 2024 is live! Your voice has been heard, including 11 organisations specifically serving London, and Clinks has captured it for our 2024 report. This year we have taken a qualitative approach to our research, listening to the sector via a series of focus groups, two of which were held in London, and interviews with voluntary organisations and funders. Check out our State of the Sector webpage to read the report and find out more information below.
Clinks’ role is to lead, support, inform and collaborate within the criminal justice sector. Our annual State of the Sector research, produced in partnership with NCVO, is a free resource evidencing what our members and the sector are experiencing.
We have compiled this report so all organisations can better understand the current criminal justice voluntary sector climate. The information supplied to Clinks during our research phase provides us with extensive evidence which we present to a wide range of stakeholders, including key decision makers. The report covers the impact of early release schemes, probation changes and initiatives planned or launched by the new government and the ongoing challenge of meeting growing need in the face of shrinking resource.
State of the Sector 2024 key findings
- Concerns about how criminal justice issues are presented in the media.
- The value of coalitions and alliances, and how these might be expanded.
- How the reverberations of the pandemic are continuing to affect the sector.
- Staffing challenges, including recruitment and retention, supporting the mental health of frontline staff.
- Vetting and challenges around lived experience engagement.
- How funders and others can support the sector over the coming year.
We have summarised key findings relevant to you
Funding
- Organisations described the increasingly challenging nature of the funding environment, including concerns about the availability of statutory funding.
- Concerns also included having to deliver ‘more for less’, and only have the resources to deliver less or less effective support.
- Organisations called for longer-term funding, as well as more statutory funding for smaller organisations.
Meeting needs
- Many organisations described increased complexity of need, as well as increased demand, amongst their service user groups.
- This was attributed to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, increased poverty and social exclusion as a result of the rising cost of living.
Staffing
- Many organisations talked about the demanding nature of the work that staff were undertaking, particularly frontline staff, and the effect this was having on them.
- Organisations described challenges retaining staff, as well as how to cover the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions.
- Many organisations reported problems with the vetting of staff and volunteers, particularly those with lived experience.
Impact
- Despite the challenges, the report sets out a range of examples of effective and innovative practice.
- Key areas of best practice include taking a person-centred approach, that acknowledges and addresses often intersecting needs.
- Organisations also highlighted the importance of working in a trauma-informed way and developing meaningful engagement with service user.
We will be discussing the State of the Sector findings, along with probation recommissioning and support in London, at our next Clinks Area Criminal Justice Forum (London) on Wednesday 14 May, which all London organisation are welcome to attend for free.
Find out more about our work in London and get involved.
View the 2024 report here
Download the executive summary here
Share State of the Sector on Twitter and LinkedIn
Best wishes,
Matthew Uberoi
London Development Officer
Clinks
0204 5026 774 | 07957 734 667 | matthew.uberoi@clinks.org | @MatthewUberoi
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