The power of partnership is a theme for the Youth Justice Board this month. We are celebrating an important anniversary – one year since the creation of our national stakeholder fora.

We run six different fora which bring together a wealth of talent, knowledge and expertise across youth justice. More than 200 individuals and organisations are a part of this network, and the number is growing every month.

I would personally like to extend my thanks to everyone who contributes to these fora and partnerships. The commitment from our partners hasn’t just been maintained, but has grown, during the pandemic and I’m incredibly grateful for their efforts and the opportunity we have to bring people and organisations together to positively impact the system.

Those working in youth justice have gone over and above during the pandemic, from Kinetic Youth working tirelessly for children in the secure estate during lockdown, to voluntary and community sector organisations like The Children’s Society focusing on children’s wellbeing, to the government departments enabling us to help shape policy, to our colleagues in youth offending teams using impressive creativity to maintain support for children.

A particularly special forum, the Youth Advisory Network, convenes children and young people with experience of the youth justice system. These Ambassadors then collaborate on behalf of other children to influence and change the system for the benefit of others. I am always impressed by their commitment to improving youth justice, and would encourage you to take a minute to read some of the blogs Katy, Tyler, Kyanno and Jessica have written for us about their experiences.

Over the next year we look forward to continuing our critical work across all our fora to shape a better future for our children, including hosting our first academic symposium for our Academic Liaison Network, learning together through virtual seminars, hosting a workshop to tackle youth unemployment and further highlighting the work of our partners across the six fora.

Please get in touch if you would like to join a forum.

• The Infection Control Fund has been extended to ensure providers have the resources they need to halt transmission of COVID-19 throughout winter

• The fund can be used to pay staff wages for those self-isolating and hire more staff to restrict movement between homes

Care providers in England will benefit from over half a billion pounds extra funding to reduce COVID-19 transmission and help protect residents and staff throughout winter.

The Infection Control Fund, set up in May, has now been extended until March 2021, with an extra £546 million to help the care sector restrict the movement of staff between care homes to stop the spread of the virus.

The fund will help care providers pay staff full wages when they are self-isolating, and enable staff to work in only one care home, reducing the risk of spreading the infection.

This brings the total funding for infection control measures in care homes to over £1.1 billion and underlines the government’s commitment to ensure adult social care has the resources it needs to keep residents and staff safe.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock said:

From the very beginning we have done everything possible to make sure our social care system is protected and has the resources it needs to keep our brilliant workforce and those they care for safe.

This new funding of over half a billion pounds will support not only care home residents, but also some of the most vulnerable in society living at home and in supported living.

I know this will give peace of mind to so many, and we will set out further detail in our Adult Social Care Winter Plan this week.

Data published by DHSC in July showed the funding has helped providers to take key steps to improve infection prevention and control in care settings, including restricting staff movement in care homes and paying staff to self-isolate.

Minister for Care, Helen Whately said:

I know just how hard social care staff have been working over the last 6 months to provide compassionate care for our loved ones and keep them safe in the face of this global threat. I am committed to ensuring the social care system has everything they need for the winter months ahead.

Today we have set out additional funding to bolster infection prevention and protect our loved ones receiving care.

From the start of the pandemic the government has been doing everything it can to ensure care home residents and staff are protected.

This includes testing all residents at least every month and staff weekly since July, providing 208 million items of PPE, and making a further £3.7 billion available to councils to address pressures caused by the pandemic – including in adult social care.

The government has also ring-fenced a total of £1.1 billion of funding specifically for social care providers to support infection prevention and control, on top of billions of pounds more in local authority funding which also covers social care.

In 2018, I started working with the Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) at Waltham Forest council. I heard about the role through a similar programme that was being run at my secondary school. It seemed like an amazing opportunity to get involved as a young person in my local area and make changes that would improve life for me and my friends.

I was excited about getting involved in the group as I felt like it was doing a lot of important work around getting young people’s voices heard. Since joining the YIAG I have taken part in some interesting initiatives. The Streetbase programme began soon after I joined, and this has been one of my highlights of my time in the YIAG. Streetbase involves members of our groups going out onto the street and engaging with young people we see in our area.

We ask for their opinions on current events and about their interests, so that we can refer them to services which provide the opportunities they are looking for. Some of the interactions I have had on various Streetbase patrols have been incredibly eye-opening and have helped us, as well as helping young people find support and positive things to do.

Another part of YIAG work I have enjoyed has been delivering workshops in schools and youth centres. Interacting and engaging with the young people around issues that affect them is important: it gives them a chance not only to learn from us, but to teach us about their lives, and how they view things. On top of this, being able to attend scrutiny meetings in the local council has enabled us to relay some of the things we learn on Streetbase patrols, or in workshops, to relevant authorities within the local area.

Our work is genuinely helping young people to get their voices heard, which is important, especially as they often feel that they are being left out of certain decisions. Working with other groups that support young people, such as the Youth Justice Board and the Young Women’s Board with the charity Abianda, commissioned by the council, has also been insightful. Making connections with other organisations that support young people is useful, and gives us the chance to explain our opinions, as well as gaining information about the work of other groups.

My work with the YIAG has also inspired me to take a deeper look at the Youth Justice System. This year, I wrote an article called ‘Knifepoint’ which won the Orwell Youth Prize*. In the article, I described the causes of youth violence and how it can be prevented, using research. I have also now been employed as part of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit on the Youth Action Group.

In the future, I hope to continue to advocate for young people and help those that are the most vulnerable in our society.

Jess, WF YIAG member

The way the theory test works in England, Scotland and Wales will change from 28 September 2020.

The change will make the theory test more accessible, especially to people with a:

• reading difficulty (like dyslexia)
• learning disability
• developmental condition (like autism)

The change only applies to car theory tests to begin with.

This change was due to happen on 14 April 2020 but was postponed due to coronavirus.

How the theory test is changing to use video clips instead of written case studies

Currently, you have to read a case study and then answer 5 questions about it.

This tests your knowledge and understanding of road rules.

This will change if you take your test from 28 September 2020. You’ll watch one video clip instead of reading a case study, and answer 3 questions about it.

How using a video clip will work

You’ll watch a short, silent, video clip and answer 3 multiple-choice questions about it.

You can watch the video clip as many times as you like during the multiple-choice part of the theory test.

What the video clip will look like

The video clip will show a situation, such as driving through a town centre, or driving on a country road.

Car theory test video clips from 28 September 2020: example clip

The type of questions you’ll answer about the video clip

You’ll answer questions like these:

1. Why are motorcyclists considered vulnerable road users?
2. Why should the driver, on the side road, look out for motorcyclists at junctions?
3. In this clip, who can cross the chevrons to overtake other vehicles, when it’s safe to do so?

For each of the 3 questions, you’ll have to choose the correct answer from 4 possible answers.

What the screen will look like

The left-hand side of the screen will show the video clip, with controls to:

• play the video
• pause the video
• move to a specific part of the video on a progress bar
• watch the video using the full screen

The right-hand side of the screen will show the question and 4 possible answers.

Who this change will affect

All car theory tests will use video clips from 28 September 2020.

This includes if:

• you fail a test before then and retake if from 28 September 2020
• your test is cancelled or moved for any reason, and your new test date is from 28 September 2020

What’s not changing

You’ll still need to study the same books and software to prepare for your theory test.

You’ll still need to:

• answer 50 multiple-choice questions within 57 minutes
• get 43 out of the 50 questions right to pass the multiple-choice part of the test

The hazard perception part of the test is not changing. This is where you watch video clips to spot developing hazards.

Tests that are not changing

The change does not yet apply to these types of theory tests:

• motorcycle
• lorry
• bus or coach
• approved driving instructor (ADI) part 1

Other support for people with a reading difficulty, disability or health condition

You can have reasonable adjustments made to your theory test if you have a:

• reading difficulty
• disability
• health condition

These include:

• extra time to take the test
• someone to read what’s on the screen and record your answers
• someone to reword the questions for you

Thousands of vulnerable people who were housed during the pandemic will be helped to stay in accommodation this year thanks to the allocations of funding announced today (17 September 2020) by Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick.

274 local councils will share £91.5 million of government funding to ensure interim accommodation and support for the most vulnerable people, including by helping people into the private rented sector, secure interim accommodation such as supported housing, and assess the wider support these people need in order to rebuild their lives. An additional £13.5 million fund will be used to enable local authorities to tackle new or emerging challenges.

Separately, applications are now being considered for a further £161 million fund intended to provide over 3,300 additional supported homes this year for those sleeping rough or currently housed in emergency accommodation. The bidding has now closed and details on successful bids will be announced in due course. This is part of broader support to provide 6,000 such homes over four years.

The Next Steps Accommodation Programme is part of the government’s landmark commitment to end rough sleeping for good.

Secretary of State for Housing, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

The incredible national effort to support rough sleepers during the pandemic has protected many lives and is widely regarded as one of the most successful programmes of its kind in the world. I’m hugely grateful to all those involved.

This funding will ensure that vulnerable people and rough sleepers continue to have safe accommodation and the care and support they need, to ensure as few as possible return to the streets.

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst MP said:

This funding will make a difference to many thousands of vulnerable peoples’ lives, continuing to help them address complex needs, and to rebuild their lives, away from the streets in safer interim accommodation.

I want to commend the Rough Sleeping Taskforce, council, providers and partners for the support they’ve provided so far.  Together, we’re providing the support required to end rough sleeping and break the cycle of homelessness once and for all.

Chief Executive of St Mungo’s Steve Douglas said:

We welcome the speed with which this funding has been allocated. It will be for both homes and support, and will build on the success of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative, which enabled us, and other homelessness charities and service providers, to help almost 15,000 people sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness to move into emergency accommodation during the pandemic, and to receive the support they needed. This undoubtedly saved lives.

We have seen what can be achieved when we work together. Going forward we want to work with government and partners on longer term solutions and hope that the homelessness review for a long term strategy will begin this autumn.

Through the government’s Everyone In programme approximately 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in hotels and other forms of emergency accommodation, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.

The Next Steps Accommodation Programme makes available the resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to ensure that the current provision that has been set up to safeguard people who were taken safely from the streets is able to continue for an appropriate length of time. Organisations who have put in successful bids have clearly demonstrated in their proposal how the funding will be used to rapidly support those in COVID-19 emergency accommodation. The funding is for use during 2020/21 only.

Regional allocations of Next Steps Accommodation Programme:

Further details of how much councils in England will receive can be found on the Next Steps Accommodation Programme page.