With the Covid-19 pandemic still ongoing, further lockdowns in response and a number of major changes set to take place in the criminal justice system this year, Clinks wanted to take this opportunity to recap on our work in the run up to the new year to influence policy and practice and reflect on our priorities going forward.

Update on the prison regime after implementing national restrictions in England on Tuesday 5th January and Wales moving to alert level 4 from 19th December.

An update on what the prison regime looks like after the lifting of national restrictions in England on Wednesday 2nd December.

[This is now closed as of 21/01/21] We're distributing a further £143,500 on behalf of HMPPS and MoJ to small and specialist organisations to support them during the pandemic.

Clinks has launched a report which presents the evidence we have collected over the course of the pandemic about the impact of Covid-19 on the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system.

Policy Manager Nicola Drinkwater looks at a relaunched government scheme to support people at risk of homelessness during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chantal Edge explains why video consultations (telemedicine) are relevant to the voluntary sector, and outlines the national rollout of telemedicine across secure settings as part of the pandemic response.

Clinks' Director of Influence and Communications Jess Mullen gives an update on probation reforms and how they are affecting the voluntary sector working in the criminal justice system.

The Covid-19 response grants fund has now drawn to a close, and we are thrilled to have awarded 58 grants to 55 organisations on behalf of the Ministry of Justice/Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (MoJ/HMPPS).

Lauren Nickolls analyses the findings of our latest survey of voluntary sector organisations. In the last month, many organisations have begun to increase their service provision again but a sense of uncertainty about the future remains.