The Chair’s Blog

Our Annual General Meeting was held today in No. One Court at the Old Bailey, with a reception afterwards in the splendid surroundings of the Grant Hall. At the AGM, attendees heard an inspiring story from Daniel who has turned his life around after leaving prison and receiving a grant from the Fund to buy…

Our 2026 Annual Report was published today. Highlights On the back of introducing the online grant application in May 2025, we made over 1,600 grants, 25% more than last year, with grant expenditure hitting an all-time high for the third year running of £317,000. We also saw an increase in donation income, largely from the…

We are very pleased and honoured to welcome Her Honour Wendy Joseph, KC, and Thomas Grant, KC as new Patrons of the Fund. Her Honour Wendy Joseph, KC, is a former judge at The Old Bailey and author of the acclaimed “Unlawful Killings” and “Rough Justice”. Thomas Grant, KC, is a practising barrister and the award-winning…

In May 2025 we introduced an online application process which has proved very timely in light of the significant increase in grant applications that we are seeing. This has made the grant application process more accessible to probation officers, in particular, and we are now receiving 30 – 40 applications every week. The online process…

The number of grant applications made to the Fund has continued to increase dramatically this year. Only seven months into our financial year, we have already received over 1,000 applications, compared to 1,376 in the whole of last year. This increase in applications is on the back of an all-time high level of grant expenditure…

We are very pleased and honoured to welcome The Right Honourable Lady Rose of Colmworth, DBE, PC as a patron of the Fund. Dame Vivien Rose is one of the most senior judges in the UK and was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2021.

I am very pleased to announce that the fabulous Old Bailey Choir will be performing “By the Waters Edge”, narrated by Mr Larry Lamb, of Eastenders and Gavin & Stacey fame, on 8 October 2025 in the Grand Hall at the Old Bailey. All proceeds will go to the Sheriffs’ & Recorder’s Fund. For further…

Our 2025 Annual Report was published today. It was an exceptionally busy year and another record breaking one, with grant expenditure hitting an all-time high for the second year running of £242,000. With income from donations remaining largely static at just under £200,000, this increase in grants meant that grant expenditure exceeded donation income this…