Issue - meetings

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998, requires Local Authorities to have a Youth Justice Plan, which is updated annually to set out how youth justice will be delivered locally within available resources.

This plan will cover a 3 year period form 2020 - 2023 and has been co-produced with Youth Justice Partnership Board (YJPB) members and influenced by national research and evidence of effective practice and has taken examples across National Partnerships.

Discussion:

This report provided details of the Medway Youth Justice Partnership Strategic Plan, which formed part of the Council’s policy framework.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 required Local Authorities to have a Youth Justice Plan, which was updated annually, to set out how youth justice would be delivered locally within available resources.

The plan (attached at Appendix 1) would cover a 3 year period form 2020 - 2023 and had been co-produced with Youth Justice Partnership Board (YJPB) members and influenced by national research and evidence of effective practice and has taken examples across National Partnerships.

This report had been considered by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee as detailed in the report. A Diversity Impact Assessment had been undertaken on the Policy, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), Councillor Mrs Josie Iles, supported by the Portfolio Holder for Resources, Councillor Gulvin,  proposed the recommendations set out in the report.

Decision:

a)             The Council noted the comments from the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet, as set out in sections 8 and 9 of the report.

b)             The Council approved the Medway Youth Justice Partnership Strategic Plan 2020 – 2023, including its accompanying delivery plan (Appendix A to the Strategic Plan) all underpinned by the use of a public health approach.

c)       The Council agreed that reducing reoffending and custody rates should be a major priority for all Members as well as the Youth Justice Partnership Board.

Councillors Cooper, Hubbard, Johnson, Khan, Mahil, Maple, Murray, Osborne, and Andy Stamp requested that their votes in favour of the decision be recorded in accordance with Council Rule 12.6.

Background:

This report provided details of the proposed Youth Justice Partnership Strategic Plan which covered the period from 2020 to 2023 and would form part of the Council’s Policy Framework. It had been co-produced with Youth Justice Partnership Board members and was influenced by national research and evidence of effective practice.

The Plan, which would be refreshed annually to take account of any changes to the national and local youth justice landscape and services, also included Medway’s recent HMIP inspection findings. The plan’s strategic priorities going forward, developed from the strategic assessment findings, were proposed to be:

·       Prevent youth crime.

·       Reduce re-offending.

·       Safeguard young people from harm.

·       Protect the public from harm.

The draft plan had been considered by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 2 June 2020.  Their comments were set out in section 8 of the report.

A Diversity Impact Assessment had been carried out on the proposals set out in this report and was attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

Reasons:

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998, requires Local Authorities to have a Youth Justice Plan, which is updated annually to set out how youth justice will be delivered locally within available resources.

The Plan will enable the Medway Youth Justice Partnership Board to drive forward the improvement needed, to strengthen links with the Children’s Service Improvement Board and align to address the HMIP inspection findings.