AYJ Monthly Newsletter: December 2022/January 2023
AYJ
News
MEMBERS’ MEETING: January 2023
We held our quarterly members’ meeting where we heard from the Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza, and her Director of Policy, Planning and Delivery Juliette Cammaerts.
PROJECTS: Young Women’s Justice Project extended
Agenda Alliance and the AYJ have been awarded extension funding from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales to help us build on the success of the Young Women’s Justice Project, focused on making a positive impact on policy and practice for girls and young women (aged 17-25) in contact with the criminal justice system (CJS). Find out more here.
COMMUNICATIONS: We have launched our Instagram account!
Through this account, we will share all AYJ updates and updates regarding the activities of the Young Advocates. We will also share wider news, definitions and explanations of key phrases and events in the youth justice sector. You can find our Instagram account at: @ayj_gram
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ENGAGEMENT:
Justice Minister meeting – We met with Damian Hinds MP, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Youth Justice, to introduce the work of the AYJ and our members and discuss priorities.
Shadow Justice Minister meeting – We met with Shadow Youth Justice Minister Anna McMorrin MP to feed policy ideas into work the Shadow Justice Team is currently undertaking reviewing the criminal justice system.
Youth Justice Board meeting – We met with the Chair of the Youth Justice Board as part of our regular engagement to share updates.
Youth Custody Service meeting - We had an introductory meeting with Ed Cornmell, the new Executive Director of the Youth Custody Service, as part of our regular engagement.
Secure Training Centres consultation – We submitted a brief response to an Ofsted, HMI Prisons and Care Quality Commission consultation on proposals for joint Assurance Inspections of Secure Training Centres.
The Traveller Movement panel discussion - AYJ Policy Manager Millie Harris took part in a panel for the Traveller Movement’s parliamentary launch of their new report examining the school to prison pipeline.
Criminal Justice Alliance panel discussion – AYJ Interim CEO Saqib Deshmukh chaired a panel on ‘Intersectionality’ at the CJA’s event ‘Empowering Civil Society: Using the Pubic Sector Equality Duty to tackle race disparity in the criminal justice system’