# Big Lottery Fund awards the Howard League for Penal Reform over £2.6 million - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/10/30/big-lottery-fund-awards-howard-league-penal-reform-over-26m/ - Published: 2008-10-30T23:58:45+00:00 - Author: Howard Lake **Big Lottery Fund awards the Howard League for Penal Reform over £2.6m to establish a national programme of support for young people in custody** The Howard League for Penal Reform is delighted to have been awarded funding by the Big Lottery Fund as part of the Young People’s Fund 2 (YPF2) National Grants programme today (Wednesday, 29 October). **UR Boss: Legal service shaped by young people** in custody will be a ground-breaking national programme of support for young people in custody. Transforming the existing work of the Howard League’s legal team, which represents children and young adults in custody, the project will run over five years and aims to give a voice to the disenfranchised and neglected young people in our prisons. ## Advertisement The Big Lottery Fund has awarded £2,617,921 over five years to fund the creation of this new and enhanced form of legal service for young people. Young people participating in UR Boss will be given advice on challenging a legal decision, guidance on their entitlements both during detention and after release, media training and guidance on how get their voice heard. Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Frances Crook, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive funding as part of the Young People’s Fund 2 and we are committed to providing young people in custody with the support they desperately need. “Listening to young people in custody and addressing their needs will improve their transition to becoming law-abiding citizens. Our legal team’s case files tell the stories of neglected and abused children, with chaotic family backgrounds and problems ranging from mental health needs to drug or alcohol addictions. All too often local authorities and other agencies have failed these young people from a very early age. “Why does this matter? Because the problems these young people face more often than not have caused their criminal behaviour. It is only when we help young people to address what has caused their offending that we can also help society become safer and reduce the risk of more victims experiencing crime. “The UR Boss project will allow us to expand the legal support and advice we can give, by creating a unique legal service which is shaped by the young people themselves. We will provide professional, dedicated legal expertise with pastoral care and advocacy throughout imprisonment to resettlement in the community. “Crucially, the project will seek to build young people’s own capacity to participate and comment on wider debates on policy and practice. We will develop policy on youth justice with young people’s help and then give them the support and training to make their voice heard – be it on the internet, in front of a television camera or before a parliamentary select committee.” Sanjay Dighe, BIG Lottery Fund England Chair, said: “YPF 2 National Grants offers young people unique opportunities to be at the heart of planning and running projects. The Howard League for Penal Reform’s UR Boss project will provide young people in custody with a chance to present their views, needs and experiences through a programme of practical support and guidance. Most importantly, it will provide a perfect platform on which to improve their futures both during detention and after release. BIG is delighted to be funding such a worthy venture.” **Further information** Andrew Neilson 020 7249 7373 ext. 119 ISDN line available on 020 7923 4196 – uses a G722 system The Howard League for Penal Reform has an expertise in youth justice going back more than a century and our legal team has represented children in the penal system since 2002, following a landmark judicial review against the Home Office that forced it to recognise that the 1989 Children Act protects children in prison. We have consultative status with both the United Nations and the Council of Europe. The Howard League is currently running the Growing up, Shut up campaign on children in the youth justice system. For more information visit www.howardleague.org Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk * **[Awards for All England small grants to change](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/03/awards-all-england-small-grants-change/)**( 3 November 2008) * **[Whizz-Kidz receives in excess of £2.8 million for its unique national children’s network](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/10/whizzkidz-receives-excess-28m-its-unique-national-children039s-network/)**( 10 November 2008) * **[Foundation for Sport and the Arts to close in 2012](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/13/foundation-sport-and-arts-close-2012/)**( 13 November 2008)