The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance held events at all of the party conferences in September and October. Each event involved speakers from the T2A Alliance, the relevant Minister or senior party representative (Rt. Hon. Crispin Blunt MP, Helen Goodman MP and Lord Dholakia), and a representative from the T2A pilots. These were the only events at party conferences to directly address young adults in a criminal justice context. The events were well attended (between 35 and 45 attendees), and there was a high quality of presentations and discussion.

[The speakers at T2A’s Conservative Party Conference fringe event, from right to left: Rt. Hon. Crispin Blunt MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice; Sara Llewellin, CEO Barrow Cadbury Trust; Clive Martin, Director, Clinks; Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Director, Criminal Justice Alliance]

Coverage by Children & Young People Now magazine of T2A’s Conservative fringe event (‘Blunt calls for adult prisoners to mentor young offenders’) is here.

[Left, Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and President of Nacro, speaking at the T2A Liberal Democrat Party Conference fringe event in September; Right, Mike Maiden, CEO of Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust]

T2A will build on the good progress made at these meetings in the forthcoming months, and will seek to maintain its engagement with senior parliamentarians across all three parties.

The full details of the events were:

Liberal Democrats:

Title: ‘Delivering Effective Integrated Local Services for Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System’

Date: Monday 19^th September 2011, 12.30-2.00pm, Youth Zone (inside secure area), Birmingham ICC

Chair:

• Debbie Pippard, Head of Programmes, Barrow Cadbury Trust

Speakers:

• Lord Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords; President, Nacro
• Clive Martin, Director, Clinks
• Penelope Gibbs, Director of the Out of Trouble Campaign, Prison Reform Trust
• Mike Maiden, Chief Executive, Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust

Labour:

Title: ‘Growing out of Crime’: Effective Responses to Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System

Date: Tuesday 27^th September 2011, 10.30-12.00pm, Youth Zone (inside secure area), Liverpool ACC

Chair:

• Ruth Cadbury, Chair of the Barrow Cadbury Trust

Speakers:

• Helen Goodman, Shadow Minister for Justice
• Frances Crook, Director, Howard League for Penal Reform
• Clive Martin, Director, Clinks
• Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Director, Criminal Justice Alliance

Conservatives:

Title: ‘Delivering Effective Integrated Local Services for Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System’

Date: Monday 3^rd October 2011, 12.30-2.00pm

Venue: Manchester Central, Room 6 Zone (inside secure area), Manchester Central

Chair:

• Sara Llewellin, Chief Executive, Barrow Cadbury Trust

Speakers:

• Rt. Hon. Crispin Blunt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice
• Clive Martin, Director of Clinks
• Rob Smith, Chief Executive of YSS (social exclusion charity, delivering the T2A pilot in Worcestershire)
• Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Director, Criminal Justice Alliance