Perspectives on implementing smoke-free prison policies in England and Wales

This paper explores prisoner and staff views of the current smoking policy in English and Welsh prisons (a partial ban permitting smoking in prison cells) and gauges perceptions of the implications of the forthcoming policy change which will see a total smoking ban within all parts of the institution. Five focus group discussions in one medium security male prison in England were undertaken. Three focus groups were undertaken with prisoners (both smokers and non-smokers) and two focus groups with staff. The findings suggest that smoking is embedded in the fabric of prison life and serves several functions, including alleviating anxiety in prisoners. The current smoking policy was perceived as being a fair policy that both supported smoking and non-smoking prisoners. There were concerns, however, that a total smoking ban would have adverse outcomes for prisoners and staff, including deleterious effects on mental health and the potential for violence. The paper concludes by suggesting that the incoming policy, which sees a total smoking ban in prisons, is laudable, but this research suggests that without careful implementation there may be adverse health and organisational outcomes

An evaluation of the Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

The Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) is an innovative programme that was established in 2009 by the Department of Health (DH) to build organisational and community capacity for volunteering through a national and local grant scheme. The HSCVF has offered both funds and tailored support to health and social care projects delivered by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The HSCVF is managed by a partnership led by Ecorys and with expertise from leading national voluntary sector organisations: Attend, Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and Primetimers. To date the HSCVF has funded a total of 157 local and national projects, of which 114 are currently live. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the HSCVF with a specific focus on the 2010/2011 national and local projects, conducted by a team from the Institute for Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. It presents evidence on the extent to which, how and in what ways the HSCVF programme has built organisational and community capacity across the national and local HSCVF projects, as well as on the health and social outcomes that resulted