News
The Foundation Practice Rating (FPR) is an objective assessment of UK-based charitable grant-making foundations. It looks at foundations’ practices in three key areas – diversity, accountability, and transparency.
The 2024/25 findings show gradual improvements in the sector, with progress across all three categories. However, diversity remains the weakest area, with no foundations receiving an A rating.
The report assessed 100 foundations, with some of the smallest outperforming the largest. Of concern was that 21 of the foundations assessed had no website, making it difficult for applicants to access crucial information. Indeed, none of the 12 foundations that scored a D in all three domains had a website, further highlighting accessibility challenges within the sector.
The FPR was initiated in 2021 by Friends Provident Foundation and is funded by a group of UK grant-making foundations, including Barrow Cadbury Trust. This year, the ‘Funders Group’ includes: Friends Provident Foundation, City Bridge Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Indigo Trust, Robertson Trust, and John Lyon’s Charity.
For more information, visit foundationpracticerating.org.uk where you can download a copy of the 24/25 report.
We are recruiting a Learning Partner for Barrow Cadbury Trust’s Economic Justice Programme
The Opportunity in Summary
We wish to appoint a new Learning Partner to our Economic Justice (Birmingham) Programme, to track learning outcomes for the period to the end of March 2027, supporting us and us and our partners to learn from and iterate the programme as we go along so it has maximum impact. We are looking for something more than a standard evaluation: we hope that our learning partner will walk alongside us and our partners as we deliver the programme, learning with us about what works, reflecting on how we approach systems change, and helping us collectively to achieve maximum benefit over the lifetime of the programme and beyond. The following document covers the background to the programme and our Learning Framework, our intended outcomes, and provides an overview of the detail required in any proposal submitted.
We expect the Learning Partner to:
- Have a creative, constructive approach to learning;
- Be based in Birmingham;
- Demonstrate a broad competence and understanding of DEI practice; and,
- Be prepared to operate in an engaging, collaborative, innovative manner with the different groups within the EJB movement.
We will shortlist up to three potential Learning Partners to present their proposals in person in Birmingham on 9 April.
Apply to Debbie Pippard, Director of Programmes, Barrow Cadbury Trust [email protected].
The deadline for receipt of applications is 09.00 on 3 April 2025. We expect the selected partner to start work in April 2025.
Please take a look at the brief, for more information.
Offensive Weapons Homicide Reviews are unlikely to save young adult lives finds a new Centre for Crime and Justice Studies report. A new duty to review homicides involving offensive weapons is unlikely to achieve its aim of reducing weapons-enabled homicides, whatever else it may accomplish, the report says.
Offensive Weapons Homicide Reviews (OWHRs) were introduced by the previous Conservative Government in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Their stated purpose is to help national and local agencies understand the causes of serious violence and prevent future weapons-enabled homicides.
The report by Dr Susie Hulley and Dr Tara Young, published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, examines the potential benefits and risks of this new duty, particularly its impact on young adult safety. The authors analysed evidence about existing homicide reviews, such as Domestic Violence Homicide Reviews, which have been in operation for several decades. Homicide reviews, they argue, are not without merit. The research found that reviews can offer additional, important information about what happened, not least of all to a victim’s family and friends. However, the report finds that the recommendations from homicide reviews are frequently not acted upon, raising serious concerns about whether the learning from these cases is being effectively implemented – particularly given the lack of statutory duty or resources to do so.
If, after the pilot, OWHRs are rolled out nationally, the report provides recommendations that could mitigate some of the identified risks of existing homicide reviews, including for a publicly accessible national database of findings and recommendations. However, the authors conclude that OWHRs are unlikely to prevent weapon-enabled homicides involving young adults, and urge the Government to put well-evidenced interventions that reduce serious violence at the forefront of its approach to serious violence.
Authors of the report, Dr Susie Hulley and Dr Tara Young said:
“In light of these findings and the government’s ambitious target to halve knife crime over the next decade, we urge the Government to reconsider the cost effectiveness of a national rollout of OWHRs, and to instead focus on well-evidenced interventions that reduce serious violence and support young adults to flourish.”
Helen Mills, Head of Programmes at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, said:
“If OWHRs are rolled out this report highlights important learning about how they can best work. However, we have some scepticism about whether this is the right approach. Clear evidence already exists about how to best prevent and respond to serious violence, and that the particular needs of young adults are often overlooked. Yet good practice remains frustratingly fragmented, and lacking the long-term sustainable funding it needs.
“My washing machine and hoover both went within a week of each other. I applied for a credit card, but that was rejected due to whatever I didn’t have in the bank. If you go with the catalogues, you’re paying huge interest – it’s poor quality and you’re paying more for it.” Lived experience contributor, Give Me Some Credit.
Fair By Design has launched its latest project, an online gallery titled Give Me Some Credit: The Reality of Life Without a Safety Net. You can view the online exhibition here.
For the past year Fair By Design has worked with The Poverty Alliance , Scotland’s network of organisations and individuals working together to end poverty, on this project to show what it is like to have no access to affordable credit.
Fair By Design brought together a group of 14 people, all of whom had experience of not being able to access affordable credit at a time of need. Using camera phones, they took photos and wrote stories to bring to life the day-to-day personal impacts on them.
Each photo and story reveal a unique perspective, from the stress of a household appliance breaking that you can’t afford to replace, to the anxiety of unexpected health emergencies.
Give Me Some Credit: The Reality of Life Without a Safety Net asks: what would you do without a safety net? And how can we build a fairer system where affordable credit is accessible to everyone?
Today, Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) released ‘Trapped in the turnstile: Understanding the Impacts of the Criminal Justice System on Gypsy, Roma, Traveller young adults and their families’, offering first-hand insights into young Romany, Roma and Traveller people’s experiences of the criminal justice system. A summary version can be found here.
Partnering with specialist organisations Hibiscus Initiatives, York Travellers Trust, TravellerSpace, and Travelling Ahead, as part of a two-year project for the Transition to Adulthood Alliance, FFT held focus groups with young Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people in prison as well as interviewing their families.
Key findings included:
- Lack of support throughout the custodial journey for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and their families.
- Lack of accessible and culturally appropriate education, practical courses and workshops, or support for mental health needs.
- Poor awareness and understanding of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Experiences were varied, but underlying themes of hopelessness, unrelenting discrimination, and a fatalism to repeat the cycle were woven in the stories FFT heard.
The report shines a light on the prejudice which permeates every life stage for Romany, Irish Traveller, Roma and New Traveller, with respondents referencing exposure to the CJS from an early age.
Testimonies also spoke of the ‘revolving door’ where people in prison find themselves trapped in a turnstile without the necessary tools to secure stability post-release.
The report calls for:
- Effective alternatives to remand for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller offenders.
- Signposting and support for individuals at every stage of the criminal justice pathway, including co-produced, accessible resources for families.
- Cultural competency training for staff including probation/parole staff across CJS.
- Culturally appropriate education and additional practical courses for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners.
Designed to support professionals working with young Gypsy, Roma and Traveller in the CJS, the report includes key recommendations so that in the future, no one gets trapped in the turnstile.
Read the full report and a summary version.
Report author and Criminal Justice Policy Officer at Friends, Families and Travellers, Sam Worrall, said:
“This report is the culmination of two years of focus groups and interviews with Romany, Roma and Traveller people currently experiencing the unrelenting gears of the criminal justice system.
‘Trapped in the Turnstile’ provides a crucial platform for prisoners and their families to have their experiences amplified, in the hope that those responsible will take vital steps to ensure no one is subjected to unfair and unequal treatment, regardless of their background.”
Debbie Pippard, Barrow Cadbury Trust Director of Programmes said:
“Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are among the most marginalised in the UK, and vastly over-represented in the incarcerated population…Despite this, their voices and views are seldom heard. We warmly welcome this report, which contains a wealth of contributions from young Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.
We trust that this important report marks the start of increased understanding of their views, experiences and culture, leading to improvements in the criminal justice response and a decrease in numbers imprisoned.”
The Alliance for Youth Justice briefing ‘Adultifying Youth Custody: Learning lessons on transition to adulthood from the use of youth custody for young adults’ explores how the Government’s decision to temporarily raise the age young people transfer from the children’s secure estate to the adult secure estate from 18 to 19 resulted in a 253% increase in the number of over 18s in the child estate. The briefing highlights the lost opportunity for systemic reform during this time and warns of the long-term risk of blurring the boundaries between youth and adult justice systems.
Key recommendations include:
Custody as a last resort
The Ministry of Justice must recognise the vulnerability and potential victimisation of children and young people who come into contact with the law, along with the genuine harm imprisonment brings. Where imprisonment is unavoidable, custody should treat children as children, with an emphasis on rehabilitation over punishment. Secure Children’s Homes must become the norm.
Remove the Youth Custody Service from HMPPS and create a Department for Children:
Child First policies must be at the heart of youth justice, so we’re calling on the YCS to be removed from HMPPS. We propose a new Department for Children to bring the care of all vulnerable children into one place.
Ensure the distinct character of the children’s secure estate, keeping it separate from the adult secure estate:
The children’s secure estate cannot become an overflow for a failing adult prison system. The children’s secure estate must be restricted for the care of under 18s only, other than on a case by case basis.
Develop a comprehensive plan for young adults in custody:
With the lessons learned from the temporary transitions policy change, HMPPS must create a far-reaching policy that addresses young adults’ distinct needs, entitlements, and maturity. The Ministry of Justice should conduct a review of domestic and international models for young adult custody to determine the most effective approach.
Supportive transitions on a case-case basis:
The Ministry of Justice must identify all barriers to case by case decision-making on when a young person transition from youth to adult custody. These decisions must always centre the individual young person’s wants and needs. There also needs to be continuity in the education, youth work provision and other services they are able to access when making the transition.
Barrow Cadbury Trust is recruiting a new Director of Finance and Administration
Our current Director of Finance and Administration, Mark O’Kelly, is retiring and we are recruiting his replacement to join our Executive Team. This is a rare opportunity for an inspirational leader of finance and operations, adept at strategic thinking and with a passion for our vision and mission to join us and make a lasting difference.
We seek individuals who deeply align with our values and mission. The next Director of Finance and Administration will bring senior financial and operational leadership experience, providing strategic financial advice to the Chief Executive, Executive Team, and Board. They will oversee budgets, accounts, and compliance with legal and accounting standards and will lead a team across finance, operations, HR, and IT. The appointee will play an important role in advising the Investment Management Committee and Board on managing our endowment. As a champion of the sector, they will bring investment management expertise and a strong commitment to ethical and responsible investment practices.
This is a unique opportunity. You will have an appreciation of the complexities of creating structural change, a successful track record of developing and implementing financial strategy and a history of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
We have a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and we encourage applications from people with personal experience of the social justice issues we’re working on.
We are supported by our recruiting partner, Green Park in this recruitment process. To read more about this role and how to apply, please visit this microsite.
Closing date: 11:59 16 February 2025
Please submit your application with your personal email address to ensure you receive acknowledgement of receipt.
Please note, to ensure confidentiality, applications submitted under a work email address will not receive acknowledgement of receipt.
Barrow Cadbury Trust is very pleased to announce the appointment of Asif Afridi to the CEO post. Asif is currently Deputy CEO at brap, a Birmingham-based, UK-wide, equality and human rights charity, with an inclusive and rights-based approach to equality. Asif is a trustee of Lankelly Chase Foundation and the Baring Foundation. He was also a panel member of the Independent Inquiry into the future of Civil Society (2016-18). He has published widely on topics of poverty, racism and social cohesion, and previously worked in the field of international human rights protection. Asif will take up the post in March 2025.
Asif said: “I’ve admired the organisation’s work for many years under Sara’s leadership and I’m excited and honoured to take up this opportunity to work with such a great team and board. I’ll be doing all I can to continue to deepen Barrow Cadbury’s long-term, thoughtful, collaborative approach to tackling structural inequality and promoting social justice”.
For some time Barrow Cadbury Trust has been thinking about its presence and profile on X. The misinformation and toxic exchanges during July’s riots were a catalyst for us to find out what others in the social justice sector were thinking so we could make a judgement on whether to leave, and, if so, which platform(s) to go to. We sent out a survey to our partners and stakeholders which seems to have tapped into a general concern in the social justice sector around social media. We are sharing it here. A big thank you to everyone who completed it.
It appears from the survey and other conversations that many organisations are moving to Bluesky so we have now created a Bluesky account: @barrowcadbury.bsky.social. Fair By Design have also created a Bluesky account: fairbydesign.bsky.social. Barrow Cadbury Trust and Fair By Design will continue to post on X.
It’s clear from the survey that lots of social justice organisations are keeping a close eye on the social media landscape and on capacity and opportunities to engage with the media and politicians.
