• This Gov.uk web page has information on the current situation and ways to get in touch with prisoners.
• Following the national lockdown announced by the government on 4th January, visits are suspended in all adult prisons in both England and Wales, except visits on exceptional compassionate grounds which should be agreed in advance with the prison. Visits to children in the youth estate will continue. HMPPS encourages visitors to always check with the prison before booking a visit.
• Following a successful trial at HMP Berwyn, HMPPS is installing technology for family video calls at prisons and young offender institutions (YOIs) across England and Wales. Video calling is now available in over 100 prisons. Guidance on how to video call someone in prison and which prisons offer video calls can be found here.
• This web page has the government's answers to some frequently asked questions for friends and families of prisoners.
• HMPPS produces a weekly publication of Covid-19 related statistics. These statistics will be released every Friday at 9:30am, starting on 26th June, and will cover deaths in prison custody and of those being monitored by probation services, confirmed Covid-19 cases in custody and the early release of prisoners.
• The Ministry of Justice has provided additional guidance to prisons around supporting people at risk of harming themselves. Whilst prisoners are having to spend more time in their cells they will be given access to essential and support services such as the Samaritans through the prison landing, in-cell and handset pin phones.
• The Prisoners Families Helpline is a dedicated free confidential HMPPS-funded national helpline for prisoners’ families managed by Pact. It is open Monday – Friday 9.00am – 8.00pm and Saturdays and Sundays between 10.00am and 3.00pm. It can be reached on 0808 808 2003, and can also be emailed at info@prisonersfamilies.org.
• While restrictions are in place in prisons as well as the wider community, the easiest way for prisoners to receive money into their accounts is online, through the money to prisoner portal. For friends and family to send money, they will need to have the prisoner number and date of birth of the prisoner they wish to send money to.
• Find updates from individual prisons via social media using this list of Twitter accounts
• Find out more about our work with families organisations and links to further support.

• The government has announced that anyone in the UK with symptoms of coronavirus is now eligible to book a Covid-19 test. Essential workers, including prisons, probation, courts and tribunals staff, the Judiciary, and charities and workers delivering critical frontline services, can apply for priority testing.
• An interim assessment of the strategies implemented in prison in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been published by the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and Public Health England. Initial data indicates that there have not been ‘explosive outbreaks’ of Covid-19 in prisons as had been feared.
• The Ministry of Justice has announced work to expand the prison estate by installing the first of 500 temporary, single occupancy cells, as part of its action to protect the public and NHS during the Coronavirus pandemic.
• The former Medway Secure Training Centre, which closed in March, will be temporarily reopened as an annex to nearby HMP Rochester, housing up to 70 category D adult prisoners. This is part of efforts to move prisons towards single-cell accommodation, as much as possible, to limit the spread of infection and the number of deaths. 
• The Ministry of Justice has announced that selected lower-risk prisoners, within weeks of their release dates, will be electronically tagged and temporarily released on licence in stages in order to avoid thousands of prisoners becoming infected, overwhelming local NHS services.
• HMPPS has published an overview of the process and eligibility criteria for prisoners to be released early under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme and guidance on the use of compassionate release on temporary licence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prison Reform Trust has produced a summary of this guidance here.Read our blogs summarising operational guidance on the ECTR scheme for adults, children and young people and Through the Gate services.
• Pregnant women in custody who do not pose a high risk of harm to the public will be temporarily released from prison. This is an important and positive decision. We are working with the government to ensure that voluntary organisations are able to provide support to these women on release.

This page has information on financial support packages for businesses, advice on how to operate your business, support for your employees, for example workers' wage costs and information on changes to planning and regulations.

• Over 100 funders have signed a second pledge to support the sector during these challenging times, offering flexibility in grant reporting and engaging with grantees to support their work. The full list and details can be found here.
• Clinks members get free, unlimited access to a funding directory listing over 4,000 UK and EU funding programmes - this resource is constantly being updated and you can sign up for alerts based on your search criteria.
• GRANTfinder's dedicated page will keep you updated on which funds and extra support have been announced to counteract the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
• Charity Excellence Framework (CEF) has listed over 500 sources of emergency funding for charities in its Covid-19 funder database. Register with CEF to access the database here.
• More charities can access the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to support organisations through the Covid-19 pandemic now that a restriction has been lifted. Registered charities do not now need to show that half their income comes from trading to be eligible.
• The government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) enables smaller businesses and charities to access finance more quickly during the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover.
• For organisations having to make the difficult decision to close, this NCVO guidance includes the steps that you will need to take.

• This page has updates on the arrangements the Department for Work and Pensions is making to support those who are affected by coronavirus.
• The Department for Work and Pensions has published new guidance which highlights that, from April 2020, while prisoners generally have no entitlement to income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, state pension credit, or universal credit, this does not apply to prisoners temporarily released from a prison in England or Wales.

• Click here to check if you can claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• Croner, specialists in HR and employment law, has collated FAQs on furlough and the government's job retention scheme.
• Clinks CEO Anne Fox has co-signed a letter, alongside a coalition of civil society leaders, to the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP to urge him to develop a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme fit for purpose for social change organisations.

Clinks is very pleased to see charities included in this but many in our sector are providing essential services and can’t furlough staff so a package of financial support is also needed.

• This factsheet is designed to address safeguarding concerns that people involved in supporting their community may have at this time.
• Temporary changes to ID checking guidelines are being made as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
• If your organisation is providing local support during the outbreak, you may like to list your organisation on the Small Charities Coalition website and the Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK website.
• Voluntary and charitable activities are exempt from a number of the new restrictions brought in on 5th November 2020. This means that, where volunteers are able to volunteer outside their home they can: meet in groups of any size indoors or outdoors while volunteering and travel to volunteer or while volunteering. As always, it should be a volunteer’s personal choice whether they wish to volunteer, including outside their home, and they should not be compelled to do so by their organisation or group. See further guidance here.
• Volunteer-involving organisations must ensure their workplaces meet coronavirus safety standards.

• These resources provide an overview of workplace safety considerations: NCVO safety at work resources; Health and Safety Executive safe working guidelines; the government’s safe working guidelines; Musicians Union advice for people making music, theatre and live performance; and Youth work specific resources.

Independent Monitoring Board (IMB)

• The IMB National Management Board have advised members to reduce the amount of prison visits to once a month or once a week, where necessary. IMB members have been advised to carry out remote monitoring.
• The IMB secretariat have set up a freephone number so that prisoners can keep in touch with their local IMB board. They have also set up a freephone messaging service for people in immigration detention.
• Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service colleagues have provided guidance to Governors to ask them to facilitate the IMB where it is safe to do so.
• The IMB are also facilitating the use of spider phones/video link for meetings such as reviews and use of force meetings.

Lay Observers (LO)

• The LO National Council have advised members to reduce the amount of court visits and carry out remote monitoring.
• A remote monitoring panel has been setup to monitor courts which are still in operation.
• The LO have been working on a 0800 freeline, which they are hoping to put into operation on 11th May 2020. A group of 10 members are monitoring over the phone.
• The freephone 0800 number will ensure that detainees can call from prisons to raise issues regarding their treatment at court or during transportation.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO)

• The PPO will continue to work remotely during the lockdown.
• The PPO are still investigating all deaths, however have temporarily suspended their visits to prisons.
• They are conducting interviews by video or phone and documents are being sent to their investigators electronically.
• They have asked prisons to preserve evidence we need for our investigations if they cannot send it to us immediately.
• People in prison can still call the PPO with their urgent complaints, however complaints sent by post cannot be processed as the PPO is unable to access their post.
• The PPO is actively working towards finding a way in which they can access the complaints post while being mindful of confidentiality.
• The PPO have informed prisoners of their limited availability due to the ongoing virus through using the Prison radio and the in-cell TV screens.