Presented on Thursday 7 September at the NCVO Campaigning Conference 2017. Chris Walker, senior external relations officer, NCVO Max Rutherford, criminal justice programme manager, Barrow Cadbury Trust If you would like to find out more about our training and events, visit our website at https://www.ncvo.org.uk/training-and-events.

1. Tech sponsor:
STRATEGIC 3: AN INFLUENTIAL
GROUP OF MPs: HOW TO GET
SELECT COMMITTEES TO LISTEN
TO YOUR IDEAS
CHAIR:
CHRISWALKER
SENIOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS OFFICER, NCVO
SPEAKER:
MAX RUTHERFORD
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAMME MANAGER, BARROW
CADBURYTRUST

2. AN INFLUENTIAL
GROUP OF MPS:
HOW TO GET SELECT
COMMITTEES TO
LISTEN TO YOUR
IDEAS
SEPTEMBER 2017

3. CHRIS WALKER
SENIOR EXTERNAL
RELATIONS OFFICER, NCVO

4. WHY DO CHARITIES WORK WITH SELECT
COMMITTEES?
• Directly influence government policy
• Press coverage – ‘an influential group of MPs’
• Be part of the wider debate on an issue
• Build relations with senior MPs
• Build reputation

5. ELECTING COMMITTEES: THE WRIGHT
REFORMS

6. ELECTING COMMITTEES: THE WRIGHT
REFORMS
• Higher profile
• More accountable
• Need to be seen as effective – more media-led?
• Higher calibre candidates – better than junior
ministerial office as a route to power
• Newer MPs have a chance – under old system it
was often who ever had been hanging around
long enough

7. SELECT COMMITTEES IN 2017
• No government majorities
• Unlikely to be in place until after party
conferences
• Brexit could dominate

8. NVCO Campaigning Conference 2017
Engaging and influencing Select Committees
A case study on the Justice Select Committee Inquiry
on Young Adult Offenders (2015-17)
www.t2a.org.uk @T2AAlliance

9. The story so far…From chocolate to youth justice

10. • 18-25s are 10% of UK population; 30% of criminal justice caseload = volume
• Worst outcomes (reconviction and breach) = public safety + £££
• Peak age of offending internationally; But...peak age for desistance = benefit
• Models from youth justice can be adapted = tried and tested
Young Adults:
Key messages

11. Young adults: Key messages
• 18-25 year olds are a distinct group – neurologically different from
children and older adults
• Brain not fully developed until at least mid-20s;
• Impulse control; empathy; planning ahead final elements of brain
development;
• Multiple service and agency transition points at 18 (e.g. education,
care leavers, health, employment, family);
• Markers of adulthood now taking place between 5-7 years later
than 1970s (parenthood, marriage, independent living).

12. What is T2A?

13. The T2A Pathway

14. Research and evidence

15. Demonstrating good practice
• 2008-2012 – Three pilots based at
probation stage of pathway -
voluntary, relationship-based,
integrated support to young adults
aligned to statutory interventions;
• Reconviction down from 3/4 to 1/4;
breach rates halved; employment
rates trebled;
• 2014-17 - Six projects across the
whole pathway (police, courts,
probation and custody).

16. Young adults in court
Young adult courts feasibility phase – six key ingredients:
 Grouped listings
 Specialist sentencers
 Enhanced assessment
 Engagement
 Victim involvement
 Physical layout

17. Agencies T2A has worked with

18.  Young adults routinely defined as a distinct group (age 18-25)
 ‘Maturity’ is now a mainstream concept
 Specific consideration of young adults in policy and practice
 Number of young adults in prison down by 40% since 2010
 Number of young adults going to court down by 30% since 2010
 Recognition of the importance of a race and gender lens for young adults
 1,000+ young adults directly supported by T2A pilot projects
To what has T2A contributed?

19. Justice Committee Inquiry
15 June 2015 – Chair of T2A Alliance
wrote to newly elected chair Bob
Neill MP
1 July 2015 – Letter of response
offering a meeting
15 July 2015 – Meeting held,
following call to clerk to run through
content
21 July 2015 – Justice Select
Committee announces new inquiry
on young adult offenders

20. Justice Committee Inquiry
22 July – T2A newsflash to all stakeholders welcoming announcement of
new enquiry, and offering support and encouragement to specific orgs to
participate (including unusual suspects – MOPAC, London CRC, key
academics, British Psychological Society, HM Inspectorate of Prisons)
19 August – Initial draft prepared for comment by steering group of key
sector representatives
21 September – Draft shared with policy and communications leads at T2A
Alliance member organisations and sector leaders
30 September – Deadline for written evidence. Lengthy submission made,
plus offer of visits, facilitation of roundtables, suggestion of
academic/practitioner contributors for oral evidence

21. Justice Committee Inquiry
6 November 2015 – first wave of invites for oral evidence contributors
sent out, principally to experts in neuroscience. Offer bespoke briefing on
key T2A lines and policy positions for all those invited to give evidence.
9 November 2015 – contact and update with clerk of the Committee,
sending relevant literature, news articles, international developments
January/February 2016 – series of roundtables held in closed sessions.
International visit by Committee to US, hosted by T2A partners at Harvard
University.
4 April 2016 – Invitation to give oral evidence to final session
20 April 2016 – Final session, oral evidence

23. April-October 2016 – Offer of support to clerk tasked with write up; follow up
information and sharing of developments
26 October 2016: Final Inquiry Report launched. T2A referenced 100 times in
the report:
“Step change in policy and practice needed for young adults”
“There is overwhelming evidence that the criminal justice system does not
adequately address the distinct needs of young adults [and] there is a strong
case for a distinct approach”
“There is an irrefutable body of evidence from advances in behavioural
neuroscience that the typical male adult brain is not fully formed until the
mid-twenties.”
Justice Committee Inquiry

24. “Research findings in criminology, psychology and neurology
indicate the need for a distinctive approach. There is
overwhelming enthusiasm for change within the sector…So we
have used the evidence we received to develop a blueprint for
change, which we expect the Government to adopt as part of
their forthcoming reform plan.”
Bob Neill MP, Press release for Justice Select Committee
Inquiry on Young Adult Offenders
Justice Committee Inquiry

25. - Embargoed copy received 48 hours before
- Press release (sent to partners in advance)
heralding report as “landmark and visionary”
- Media and communications (quotes from
leading practitioners, academics, sector voices,
young adults)
- BBC news, Victoria Derbyshire Show, Radio 4
Today Programme, print media, trade press
Justice Committee Inquiry

26. January 2017 – Government response
Justice Committee Inquiry
Acknowledging maturity and 18–25 year olds in the
criminal justice system as a distinct group
“Young adults will continue to mature into their
mid-twenties, in line with the considerable scientific
evidence gathered and presented by the
Committee.
“MoJ publications will continue to highlight the
relevance of maturity throughout young adults’
journeys through the criminal justice system,
drawing on existing work and the research carried
out externally by bodies such as Transition to
Adulthood Alliance (T2A).”

27. What’s happening now?
- Government response being implemented
- Holding government and nominated agencies to account
- Working with the Select Committee to secure change – recalling the
Minister for an update
- Supporting Ministry of Justice and other agencies to achieve goals and
commitments
- Relentlessly continuing to make the case and recruit new champions
in order to maintain momentum
Justice Committee Inquiry

28. Before your issue is picked up:
- Submit evidence inquiries as often as possible and make your issue relevant
in order raise your profile and that of your issue;
- Build trust with clerks and become a go-to for advice;
- Get in an early meeting with a new Committee chair/members/clerk;
- Practice how to talk about your issue for 30 seconds, 30 minutes and 3 hours.
If your issue is selected for an inquiry:
- Offer assistance. You/your organisation are the experts and have worked on
the issue for years – the Committee needs help ensuring their inquiry is
balanced, well-informed and accurate;
- If the issue is central to your organisation, take the lead on
corralling/enabling/facilitating the sector;
- Engage and encourage unlikely allies & unusual suspects (e.g.
neuroscientists);
- Offer to host roundtables and visits; send updates and news snippets.
Tips for success

29. Giving evidence:
- Written evidence should be closely aligned to questions set out in the call;
- Use appendices to include relevant information beyond word limit;
- If called for oral evidence, work out how many times you’ll get to speak
(e.g. a 1h session with 3 panellists = 4-7 chances to speak for up to 2 mins);
- Answer questions in a way that allows you to make the points you want
- Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know, but will write to you”;
- Don’t guess with factual information. Don’t get defensive and don’t argue
or get frustrated.
When the report is published:
- Share your statement with others as early as possible to set the tone;
- Be proactive in offering to be a media contact for the Committee’s press
team on the day (somewhere to divert journalists);
- The work starts now – don’t forget, you may have made your case to the
Committee, but almost no-one else will know about it.
Tips for success

30. Thank you for listening. Please contact me at
M.Rutherford@BarrowCadbury.org.uk
@MaxRutherford_
www.t2a.org.uk @T2AAlliance

31. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• What has and hasn’t worked for you when
you’ve tried to influence select committees?
• What specific challenges and opportunities do
you think there will be in this parliament?
• What benefits are there to collaborating with
other organisations on select committee work?
Should charities do this more?