Agenda item

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 (attached at Appendix 1) is a completely new plan in line with guidance distributed to local authorities in March 2024. The Format of the plan follows guidance and headings provided by the national Youth Justice Board in the guidance mentioned, detailing best practice in the Youth Justice Plans completion.

Discussion:

The Youth Offending Team Manager introduced the annual report which set out how youth justice would be delivered locally. This new plan was developed in line with the new guidance that was distributed to Local Authorities in March 2024.

Members raised several comments and questions which included:

Young people with additional needs - it was asked how the commissioning of speech and language therapists for young people with additional needs was progressing and the officer said that this had recently been discussed at the Youth Justice Board. There was a national shortage of speech and language therapists, and work was being undertaken with providers to look into innovative solutions as part of the work that the late Director of Public Health started, to address challenges with recruitment.  A meeting was due to take place to discuss progress on this matter.

Funding – in response to a question on the amount of funding that would be received, the officer said that they were still awaiting confirmation of the final amount but had received confirmation that it would not be less than the previous year.

Education and Training - in response to a query on what achievements and qualifications could be earned by young people, the officer said that the AQA qualification work had been in place for a year and the education responses from young people were presented in the report. Some young people had a negative experience of education, and work on this qualification was being introduced to them in small manageable steps. The AQA offer was in varied areas such as work with children through unpaid work in the community to enable them to gain vital work experience, work in areas of building and construction, music as well as other areas of interest. The aim of the qualification offer was to identify young people’s areas of interest and to support them in developing skills that they could utilise in later life.

Data on first time offenders - it was asked how data on first time offenders was being used to support the work of the team. The officer explained that data was collated and shared quarterly at the National Youth Justice Board. A deep dive had been undertaken on backgrounds of the young people and the types of offences they commit but there was more work that needed to be undertaken on understanding their experiences. Detailed work on first time offenders was a priority for this year and further details would be provided to the Committee, including data on outcome 22 to enable members to analyse trends.

Female Offending - in response to a question on understanding female offending, the officer said that whilst boys and girl offending was different, the approach of the team was for all young people to have a strong focus on identity, who they were, who they wanted to be and how to achieve their aspirations. It was however important to understand the nuances and that everyone was an individual, listening to their experiences, how they perceive their identities and responding appropriately. It was important to ensure that all young people were treated as individuals.

Retention of staff- it was asked how invested management was in development of staff and the officer said that he was very proud and lucky to work with an exceptional team who were motivated and committed to continuous development. He was also proud of the diverse and rich background of the team.

Decision:

The Committee recommended Full Council to approve the Medway Youth Justice Plan 2024 – 2025.