Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Acknowledged
The Ministry spoke to us about its vision to be more outcomes-led and to drive...
Conclusion
The Ministry spoke to us about its vision to be more outcomes-led and to drive up performance and standards. It also wants to focus on early intervention. The Government has announced youth funding of £100 million a year over the next three years, including £60 million a year for the Turnaround programme – focused on early intervention for children in the community. The Ministry informed us that it is working with other government departments, including the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England, on early intervention.35 It also referred to the cross-government work of the Youth Justice Board and the joint funding for local youth offending teams. Yet it was unable to point to a coherent cross-government youth justice strategy and told us that local areas will understand more about what is needed in their area.36 It considered the changes it was making to youth custody establishments to be in support of this vision, but improvements were piecemeal and it did not articulate how each improvement project— for secure schools, YOIs, and STCs—fed into an overall strategy for youth justice.37 Location of youth custody provision
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of early intervention and community-based support, referencing the 9.8% uplift in funding to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) and the new ‘Turnaround’ programme.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2.3 In May 2022, the government announced a substantial investment in early intervention and community-based support. The Ministry of Justice provided a 9.8% uplift in funding to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in 2022-23 to provide them with the resources and capacity to work with children and address the underlying causes of their offending behaviour. This involves working across other parts of local support services to address issues related to mental health, exclusion from school, an unstable home life or any of the other challenges that can lead to children entering the youth justice system. 2.4 The government also announced a new ‘Turnaround’ programme designed to work with children on the cusp of offending, before they would normally get support from YOTs. 2.5 These steps and other interventions are aimed to reduce the number of children in the youth justice system, particularly in custody.