Questions remain about what role third sector will play amid community justice reforms

Last week Turning Point Scotland welcomed MSPs, local elected members, representatives of Community Planning Partnerships and Community Justice Authorities, criminal justice social work teams and others to our Turnaround residential base in Renfrewshire. They heard how the service works, from the people we support and the future challenges for the service. 

The challenges are linked to the new arrangements for community justice in Scotland being introduced over the next couple of years. Community Planning Partnerships and a range of community justice partners in 32 local authority areas are preparing to take on the duties and responsibilities of the eight Community Justice Authorities being disestablished in 2017. 

This will place an emphasis on local partnership working, service delivery and a more direct connection with other local planning processes around issues such as alcohol and drugs, health and social care, housing and homeless and the community plan, and will result in better joined-up services. A new national body, Community Justice Scotland, will be created.
 
While the Community Justice (Scotland) Bill offers potential for improvement in terms of statutory service provision there are questions about what role the third sector will play. Together we have a history of delivering community services and in recent years we have been an active part of the Community Justice Authorities, but what form will our role take in the new arrangements? Will we be partners or simply providers? Who will commission our services? Local authorities? Community justice partnerships? Community Justice Scotland? 
 
Turnaround is a unique example of joint working that has been possible under the current structures – drawing on the skills, experience and innovative approach of the third sector to deliver a service to over 1,000 individuals across two CJAs, ten local authorities, three health boards and two sheriffdoms.

The 10 bed residential unit takes referrals from across the whole geographical area and works with men over six to eight weeks to address addiction issues and offending. In local communities our staff are co-located with criminal justice social work teams and work with people serving Community Payback Orders to address some of the underlying issues which can contribute to their offending behaviour and to identify and work towards positive goals.
 
It's vital that in moving to new structures and in focussing on the local that we don't lose services like Turnaround, that we don't lose the energy, the innovation and the expertise that the third sector brings to the table and most importantly that we continue to give the people we support opportunities to build a new life, not just as ex-offenders but as citizens.

Alan Howard is Business Development Manager for Turning Point Scotland