21 March 2019, St James’s Palace, London: The Butler Trust’s 34th Annual Award Ceremony, hosted by HRH The Princess Royal, took place on 21 March, in the State Rooms at St James’s Palace.
The Princess presented 10 Awards and 20 Commendations to a total of 30 staff members and volunteers from prison and community justice settings throughout the UK, and among the 200 guests from across the criminal justice sector were: Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke; Minister for Prisons and Probation, Rory Stewart; Chief Executive of HMPPS, Michael Spurr; Head of the Scottish Prison Service, Colin McConnell; and the Head of the Youth Justice Board, Colin Allars.
This year’s Princess Royal’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement (the highest Award) went to Senior Governor, David Savage, for the outstanding levels of passion, dedication and courage he has brought to his work at HMP Maghaberry on behalf of both the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the wider community. His impact on the prison has been genuinely transformational.
During a year in which prisons again made negative headlines, the Butler Trust’s Director, Simon Shepherd, has been quietly exploring the opposite: what’s positive about our prisons? In an ambitious undertaking, he’s visiting every closed prison in England and Wales to ask individual groups of prisoners, officers, and managers, an unusual question: “What’s good about this prison?”
Although Spring took her time turning up, she arrived in some style – with the early-May Bank Holiday the warmest since the holiday began in 1978. With the World Cup getting closer, temperatures climbing, and long Midsummer nights, we started to wonder if the famous – in our office, anyway – last minute rush of nominations would happen this year. England were headed for the Round of 16 by the time our deadline was reached and once more, you did us proud: cheering along the best and brightest people working around you, from all four corners of the kingdom, you only went and broke the record for the most nominations ever – 383 in total!
Do you know someone who goes ‘above and beyond’? There’s still time to nominate them for a Butler Trust Award, but you’ll need to get a wiggle on because nominations close on 30 June.
A distinguished audience of over 200 delegates gathered at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London on November 6th for ‘Parole, Probation and Prisons – Past, Present and Future.’ Organised by The Butler Trust and supported by HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), the conference marked the 50th Anniversary of The Parole Board. An exceptional roster of speakers included The Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; Nick Hardwick, Chair of The Parole Board; and Michael Spurr, CEO of HMPPS; as well as leading academics and representatives of victims and service users.
