AYJ Monthly Newsletter: June 2021
AYJ
NEWS
“#AYJASKS how could we reimagine ‘justice’ for children?” – Watch the event highlights
Back in March, to mark our relaunch as the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ), we held an online event to open up a discussion about how we could reimagine ‘justice’ for children. With the help of our expert panel including Gavin McKenna of Reach Every Generation, Nadine Smith of Leaders Unlocked, Shadae Cazeau of EQUAL, John Drew, social change activist and previous Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board, and three of our Young Advocates, Adam, Leon and Tranai, we explored 'justice' through 4 key themes: children’s rights, access, equity, and participation. The event highlights are now available to view here.
AYJ welcomes new Associate Members
This month we welcomed three new Associate Members. Bianca, Kenya and Molly have all been involved with the AYJ for the past 9 months in a youth advisory capacity, and we are delighted to welcome them as members to play an active role in our network and policy work:
Bianca Saunders – Bianca joined Barnet Youth Offending Team last year as a case manager. She is undertaking a Rise Up youth leadership programme and is a Young Advisor at Leaders Unlocked.
Kenya Lamb – Kenya is a Senior Fearless Outreach Worker at Crimestoppers, where she works directly with young people and organisations supporting them including outreach in schools and youth organisations. She is a Member of the Local Scrutiny Involvement Panel at the Crown Prosecution Service and was previously a member of the European Youth Parliament.
Molly Coupe – Molly is now working as a Referrals Co-ordinator at National Fostering Group, where she specialises in finding placements for children including those who are at risk of exploitation. She previously was a volunteer at AYJ member Catch 22.
AYJ joins 140+ organisations to call on government to put children at the heart of the nation’s recovery
The AYJ has signed a joint statement that calls on the government to set out an ambitious cross-government plan, backed by significant investment, that will be transformational for this generation of children impacted by Covid-19.
AYJ Engagement:
AYJ convene meeting concerning Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC)
AYJ convened a meeting with several members and partners following the announcement from Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland that all 33 children are to be removed from Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre in Rugby amid serious ongoing concerns about safety and performance. The meeting included the Association of YOT Managers, Secure Accommodation Network, Howard League for Penal Reform, and Youth Justice Board, and discussed the developments, shared information and informed our next steps. The AYJ has been corresponding with the Youth Custody Service about the situation and will continue to do so, seeking assurances about the impact on children, as well as the longer-term implications for the Youth Secure Estate.AYJ Director Pippa Goodfellow attends RR3 meeting with Minister Alex Chalke
Pippa joined the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector (RR3) Advisory Group meeting to discuss probation reform with Alex Chalk MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, and the regime reform programme with HMPPS lead Chris Gunderson. Pippa raised the critical need to consider transitionary arrangements for children transferring from the youth to adult estate in the design of future regimes.AYJ meeting with MoJ’s Youth Justice Policy Unit
Pippa met with officials from the MoJ’s Youth Justice Policy Unit. Officials confirmed that the MoJ’s long-awaited remand review will be published ‘imminently’. Pippa raised issues around the ongoing underuse of Secure Children’s Homes placements and the lack of a long-term strategy for the youth secure estate, as well as concerns about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.AYJ meeting with Care Review team on children's rights
Pippa attended a meeting with the Children’s Social Care Review team, including the Chair Josh MacAlister, alongside colleagues from a coalition of coalitions working with and for children and young people in England. The meeting followed a written submission to the Care Review, calling on them to publicly commit to upholding the principles and provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Each aspect of the submission was discussed with the review team, and further engagement will follow in the coming months.
AYJ
VIEWS
AYJ engagement on Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
Joint Committee on Human Rights Legislative Scrutiny
AYJ Director Pippa Goodfellow gave oral evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) on the child rights implications of the PCSC Bill. Laura Janes of AYJ member the Howard League for Penal Reform, and Hazel Williamson of AYJ member the Association of YOT Managers also gave evidence to the Committee, alongside Claudia Sturt, new CEO of the YJB. In her responses, Pippa covered key issues such as:the continuing harms of custody and the disproportionate nature of the reduction in the number of children in custody
the PCSC Bill threatening to further entrench racial inequalities
the continued overuse of custodial remand for children
incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law
Watch the full evidence session here, read our news piece here, and read our written evidence submission to the Committee here.
The JCHR has also published the AYJ’s written evidence on the Bill. For this particular evidence we narrowed down three main concerns regarding the Bill’s impact on children’s rights. These are the ways in which the Bill: fails to treat children as children, will increase the incarceration of children, and will exacerbate racial disparities.AYJ EXPLAINS: The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill
During Committee Stage of the PCSC Bill, the AYJ has been publishing quick guides to sections of the Bill which impact children in contact with the justice system. Take a look at last months guides:
Coalition campaign on the Bill's impacts on racial disparity
The AYJ and other criminal justice organisations, coordinated by the Criminal Justice Alliance, have been raising awareness about the potential of the Bill to exacerbate racial inequalities in the criminal justice system, calling for change under the #EndCJSinequality campaign. The coalition launched an explainer video setting out how the Bill will deepen inequality, which you can watch here. We also urge you to sign and share our joint petition here.
In March the coalition wrote to the Prime Minister warning that clauses in the Bill will deepen existing disparities, calling for these clauses to be removed. We have now received the government's response to our letter. The coalition has published a statement in response to the government's letter, highlighting that the Bill is being rushed through Parliament, with a lack of meaningful consultation, and a failure to make amendments to the Bill to address concerns.Joint briefing on Serious Violence Duty
The AYJ is also part of a group of criminal justice and civil liberties organisations including AYJ member JUSTICE, and Liberty, Amnesty International, and others, which has produced a report stage briefing on the Serious Violence Duty, and Serious Violence Reduction Orders. Read the briefing here.
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