CLINKS NEWS: Sentencing Act implementation - the Progression Model
Clinks has published a blog setting out the latest details on the implementation of the Progression Model, one of the core measures within the Sentencing Act. Lord Timpson has signed the Commencement Order, with the model going live on 2nd September. Under the new model, the majority of people serving standard determinate sentences will be released at the 33% point of their sentence, with the second third spent under active probation supervision and the final third on licence.
The rollout will sit alongside the introduction of a new seven-tier risk system for people on probation and a presumption to electronically monitor the majority of people released from prison. Releases will be implemented in ten monthly tranches from 2nd September.
Clinks will continue to work with officials to ensure information is disseminated across the voluntary sector in a timely manner, with a focus on enabling organisations to prepare for the increased numbers of people being released from prison. Read the full blog here
CLINKS NEWS: From rehabilitation to containment? What the IMB report tells us about the gap between policy ambitions and lived reality
Clinks has published a blog responding to the Independent Monitoring Boards’ National Annual Report, which paints a stark picture of life behind prison walls, describing overcrowding, poor mental health, self-harm, inadequate healthcare, limited time out of cell and people being released without adequate support. The blog notes the striking alignment between the IMB report’s findings and those of the Chief Medical Officer’s landmark report on the health of people in prison published six months earlier, and asks whether the system is currently delivering rehabilitation or increasingly focused on containment.
It also raises concerns about the growing pressure placed on the voluntary sector to absorb the consequences of systemic strain without the sustainable investment needed to do so effectively. Read the full blog here
CLINKS EVENT: Working and volunteering in prisons training
This online training session is designed for voluntary sector staff and volunteers who are new to working or volunteering in prisons, or who want to deepen their understanding of the prison environment. The session covers key aspects including staffing structures and departments, prison procedures, and the current challenges associated with working in prisons. It also explores how voluntary sector staff can engage meaningfully and professionally with prisons while prioritising safety and responsible ways of working. Places are limited to 20 participants. Clinks can also deliver this training in-house for organisations with several staff or volunteers who would benefit. [Thursday 25 June 2026 | 10:00 to 13:00 | Online | £95 members / £150 non-members] Book here
CLINKS EVENT: Navigating the criminal justice system training
This online workshop is designed for voluntary sector staff and volunteers who are new to working or volunteering in the criminal justice system, or who want to deepen their understanding of how it is organised and how it works. The session covers an overview of the criminal justice system and the jargon used, the process from arrest to conviction, prisons, probation, local and regional structures, inspectorates and regulators, and the role of the voluntary sector. Places are limited to 20 participants. A small number of free places are available for volunteers and specialist organisations. Clinks can also deliver this workshop in-house for organisations with several staff or volunteers who would benefit. [Tuesday 7 July 2026 | 09:30 to 12:30 | Online | £75 members / £150 non-members] Book here
MEMBER FOCUS: Elastic FM Limited
Elastic FM Limited is a not-for-profit community organisation with nearly 15 years’ experience delivering substance misuse recovery and digital empowerment programmes in Derbyshire. Over the past three years, the organisation has run Your Choice as a Matter, a four-stage recovery programme supporting individuals through values-based personal development, holistic health and wellbeing, future planning for employment or volunteering, and digital skills. Elastic FM also delivers Your Digital Journey, which provides training in modern digital tools including audio and video production, website building, graphic design, marketing and business planning to improve employability and self-employment opportunities. The organisation works in partnership with Derbyshire County Council and also acts as a social prescriber in North East Derbyshire, working with local GP surgeries to support the NHS through community-based wellbeing resources. Find out more here
CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: Debt Free Advice expands digital debt advice across 13 prisons
Debt Free Advice, a London-wide debt and money advice partnership led by Toynbee Hall, has launched a 13-prison pilot to expand access to free, regulated debt advice for people in custody. Funded by the Ministry of Justice and the Money and Pensions Service, the pilot provides access to qualified debt advisers through digital Video Advice Kiosks across prisons in and around London and the South East, reaching more than 10,000 people across men’s and women’s prisons. Advisers can support people with issues including rent arrears, council tax, utility bills and court fines, and can also contact creditors, support Breathing Space applications and liaise with housing providers ahead of release. Voluntary sector organisations working with people in the prisons covered by the pilot are encouraged to help signpost or refer people who may benefit.
Read about the original HMP Brixton kiosk launch
CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: The Hidden Lives of Muslims in Prison
Maslaha has published the third in its series of briefings on the hidden lives of Muslims in prison, this one focusing on adjudications. Drawing on HMPPS data from 2023 to 2025 and conversations with Muslim men, the briefing finds that prison rules are being applied more harshly and in a discriminatory way against Muslims than non-Muslims, with Muslims less likely to be considered for jobs and education in prison and more likely to have additional days added to their sentence. The briefing also raises concern about the implications for the government’s new “earned progression” model under the Sentencing Act. Read the briefing here
CLINKS MEMBER’S NEWS: Loneliness and Older People in Custody
To mark Loneliness Awareness Week, Recoop has published a reflection on how loneliness shapes the lives of older people in custody and beyond. Many older prisoners receive no visits at all, and mobility difficulties, hearing loss and cognitive decline can make communal prison life feel out of reach. After release, the risks do not lessen: the age-adjusted suicide risk for recently released prisoners is eight times the national average, with isolation a key contributing factor. Recoop’s Buddy Programme and Resettlement Programme work to address this by building peer connection inside prison and preparing people for life in the community. Read more here
CLINKS MEMBER’S EVENT: Supporting transitions into, within and out of imprisonment
HMPPS Insights and the Prison Service Journal (PSJ) are hosting an online panel event to explore what research tells us about supporting people through key moments of transition in the custodial journey, including moving into custody, between establishments and regimes, and back into the community. The event brings together colleagues from HMPPS, PSJ, academics and external partners, and is timed to support the forthcoming special edition of the PSJ on this theme. Attendees can also apply for a VIP opportunity to meet the PSJ editors to learn more about the journal and how to submit an article, with a separate in-person event taking place in September.
[Online panel event: Monday 6 July 2026 | 14:00 to 15:00 | Online | Free]
[VIP+ Prison Service Journal event: Thursday 10 September 2026 | 11:00 to 12:00]
Register and apply for a VIP ticket here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Sentencing Act 2026
HMPPS has written to voluntary organisations to explain changes being introduced under the Sentencing Act 2026 that may affect people they work with or support.
From 2 September 2026, some people in prison (adults) serving Standard Determinate Sentences will move to new automatic release points. Most eligible adult SDS and Detention in a Young Offender Institution people in prison will be released at the one-third point, while eligible SDS+ and DYOI+ people in prison will be released at the halfway point due to different eligibility criteria and public protection considerations.
Home Detention Curfew will no longer be available for adults as a matter of course, and some eligible people in prison will be subject to electronic monitoring during the first part of their licence period. The changes also apply to some people already in custody, meaning their release date may be brought forward, with releases taking place in tranches between September 2026 and June 2027.
People in prison will be informed if their release data is changing, and will be told what they need to do to prepare for release. Prison and probation teams will continue to manage release planning, licence conditions and public protection arrangements. For localised concerns, please contact the relevant prison directly.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Expansion of Intensive Supervision Courts
The Ministry of Justice has announced an expansion in the number of Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), supported by an extra £9 million in funding. The expansion will see the number of ISCs rise from 5 to 11 sites across the country, with a specific focus on 'prolific offenders', women and those with substance misuse issues.
The new additional investment will fund six new courts, alongside up to £10 million to continue funding the original six pilot sites, as well as a new 'female offender-focused' court in Liverpool, due to open in the autumn.
The confirmed sites for new Intensive Supervision Courts, which will 'open before the end of 2027', include:
- Leeds Magistrates’ Court ('female offender' focused)
- Newcastle Magistrates’ Court ('female offender' focused)
- Swansea Magistrates’ Court ('female offender' focused)
- London Thames Magistrates’ Court ('female offender' focused)
- Inner London Crown Court ('prolific offender' focused)
- Cambridge Crown court (substance misuse focused)
Clinks' CEO, Dr Summer Alston-Smith, commented on the announcement: "We really welcome this additional investment into Intensive Supervision Courts, particularly given the vital role our members play in delivering the wraparound support that sits alongside them.
We know that access to the right support at the right time can help people address the challenges that contribute to repeat contact with the criminal justice system. This investment recognises the importance of tackling need in the community as part of an approach that reduces the use of custody and improves societal outcomes, wherever possible."
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Justice Committee report on the Courts and Tribunals Bill
The Justice Committee published a detailed report on 11 June scrutinising the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which proposes expanding the role of magistrates’ courts and introducing judge-only Crown Court proceedings in response to a backlog of over 80,000 cases. The Committee described the government’s target of 21,000 magistrates by 2029 as “unrealistic”, warning of a chronic shortage of legal advisers and persistent recruitment and retention challenges. On equality, the Committee said it was “shocking” that only 1% of Crown Court judges are Black, a figure unchanged since 2015, and raised significant concerns about the racial equality impacts of reducing the role of juries, noting that the Lammy Review found juries to be one of the few areas of the criminal justice system where Black and Ethnic Minority defendants do not face disproportionate outcomes. The Bill returned to the Commons for debate on 18 June. Read the report here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Record Number of Deaths within 14 days of Prison Release
An investigation published on 15 June revealed that a record 77 people died within 14 days of being released from prison in England and Wales in 2025, a 28% increase from the previous year and the highest number since records began in 2021. The rise is strongly linked to an increase in prisoners being released into homelessness: Ministry of Justice data shows almost 13,000 people left prison homeless in the year to April 2025, a 39% rise on the previous year, and one in four people who died within a fortnight of leaving prison had been released homeless. Nacro chief executive Enver Solomon described the deaths as a “hidden tragedy” and emphasised the life-or-death importance of safe and secure housing on release. Read more here
NON-MEMBERS’ EVENTS OR TRAINING: St Martin’s Charity Frontline Network Annual Conference 2026
Now in its ninth year, St Martin’s Charity’s Frontline Network Annual Conference brings together frontline workers from across the UK and across sectors to share best practice, knowledge and skills. This year’s conference features ten interactive online sessions on topics including mental health and homelessness, frontline worker wellbeing, and supporting traveller communities, with a diverse range of speakers and a focus on recognising frontline worker voices and experiences from across the four nations. Attendees can register for one session or up to four, depending on what works best for them. The event may be of particular interest to voluntary sector organisations working with people experiencing homelessness [Tuesday 23 June 2026 | Online | Free] Register here
FUNDING: Women’s Diversionary Activity Grant now live
The Ministry of Justice grant competition for the Women’s Diversionary Activity Grant is now live. The fund will support organisations delivering diversionary activity for women in contact with, or at risk of entering, the criminal justice system, covering the period 1 January 2027 to 31 March 2029. The Ministry of Justice is hosting an engagement event on Tuesday 23 June, 10:00 to 11:00, to support organisations with completing their bids, including further information on how to do a Theory of Change and an opportunity to ask questions. Details of the engagement event are available through the link below. Find out more and register for the engagement event here
OPPORTUNITY: Economic Inactivity Trailblazer Year Two
The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority has launched an open call for projects to support delivery of year two of the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer programme (2026/27), a flagship Department for Work and Pensions-funded programme designed to test new approaches to reducing economic inactivity by improving how employment, health and skills systems work together. Organisations working in the criminal justice sector may be particularly interested in Strand 4, which seeks specialist employment support for people with convictions and prison leavers, addressing practical barriers including disclosure, licence conditions and employer stigma, and working closely with probation and resettlement services. Other strands cover specialist employment support for social housing tenants and unpaid carers. Partnership and consortium bids are strongly encouraged. Delivery is expected to commence from August 2026 through to 31 March 2027. [Deadline: 3 July]
Find out more and access the full specifications here
For queries, contact ei.trailblazer@northeast-ca.gov.uk
CLINKS MEMBERS’ VACANCIES:
Night Engagement Worker with Social Interest Group [£28800, SE6, Full Time]; Community Mental Health Recovery Worker with Social Interest Group [£28800, SE6, Full Time]; Female Link Worker (Ref: WON-261) with St Giles Trust [£25547, Norwich & West Norfolk, Full Time]; Prison Facilitator - HMP Highpoint with Shannon Trust [£29264, HMP Highpoint (Newmarket), Full Time]; Substance Misuse 90 Day Traineeship with The Nelson Trust [£201, Stroud, Part Time]; Team Lead (Justice Services) with The Wise Group [£29077 to £31500, North West England, Full Time]; Caretaker with Social Interest Group [£27000, SE16 2DR, Full Time]; Reader in Residence - Criminal Justice Group Lead (Staffordshire - Midlands) with The Reader [£24380, Staffordshire, Part Time]; CQC Registered Manager with The Nelson Trust [£35000 to £40000, Stroud, Full Time]; Finance, Benefit & Debt Mentor (NW) with The Wise Group [£25664, North East England, Full Time].
For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here
READS OF THE WEEK:
- IMB National Annual Report 2025
- Post-legislative scrutiny of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021
- New Diversion Data Publication - which children are we missing?
- They Don’t Understand Abuse
EXTRA INFORMATION:
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