Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes, as well as Hampshire High Sheriff Rupert Younger, organised the event in March to examine ways of reducing reoffending. It attracted speakers, including Mr Brine, from across the county and from New York. A full report was published in June.
As he promised at the conference, Mr Brine recently presented the report's recommendations to the Justice Select Committee on which he sits. Members subsequently accepted amendments from the MP to its major Crime Reduction Policy inquiry report including a proposal to intervene much earlier in children's lives where they have a parent serving a prison sentence and challenging the Treasury to free up resources to invest in crime prevention. The committee also officially noted the Hampshire paper as a source in its final report.
The Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP said; "This was a classic case of Winchester influencing national policy and it proves the strength of well organised, evidence-based argument.
"Children who have a parent in prison have dreadful outcomes and often end up doing time themselves, literally passing the cycle of offending down the generations. I am therefore really pleased that the Government intend to bring these families into the scope of the highly effective Troubled Families Initiative run by Hampshire County Council. Not only did we put this in our report, I subsequently raised it in an evidence session with the Secretary of State and he confirmed the Government's intention to act.
"Reoffending rates are still too high in our country, especially among those serving under 12-months and this Government, not least through our reforms to the probation service, is utterly focused on driving them down.
"I am grateful to the organisers of this conference who will I know be pleased their work has been heard so clearly in the corridors of power."
Pictured; Steve Brine MP speaking at Justice Select Committee.
More information ...
You can download the Winchester Conference White Paper here
You can also access the Justice Select Committee Crime Reduction Inquiry Report here