Agenda item

The Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2023-2024 provided details of progress made against agreed outcomes for Children and Young People. It outlined priorities, alongside potential future challenges for the partnership over the coming year. It also highlighted the partnership arrangements and budget position for the Youth Offending Service Partnership.

The Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan for 2023-2024 was produced in consultation with strategic partners. This was done through a series of focus groups which were held with representatives from the police, probation, magistrates, health, and Buckinghamshire Council services, including Children’s Social Care, Education and Community Safety, as well as representatives from voluntary organisations such as Barnardo’s and ‘SAFE!’. The plan was produced in line with guidance published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and must be submitted to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and published in accordance with the directions of the Secretary of State.

RESOLVED –

That the Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2023-24 be endorsed, and it be forwarded to Council who be recommended to adopt it.

The Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2023-2024 provided details of progress made against agreed outcomes for Children and Young People. It outlined priorities, alongside potential future challenges for the partnership over the coming year. It also highlighted the partnership arrangements and budget position for the Youth Offending Service Partnership.

The Buckinghamshire Youth Justice Strategic Plan for 2023-2024 was produced in consultation with strategic partners. This was done through a series of focus groups which were held with representatives from the police, probation, magistrates, health, and Buckinghamshire Council services, including Children’s Social Care, Education and Community Safety, as well as representatives from voluntary organisations such as Barnardo’s and ‘SAFE!’. The plan was produced in line with guidance published by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and must be submitted to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales and published in accordance with the directions of the Secretary of State.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education reported that providing the Strategic Plan was a legislative requirement. The purpose of the report was to show the work, and the results of previous work of the Youth Offending Service, which was a multi-agency partnership which included Thames Valley Police, Council, Health Services, Community Safety, Voluntary Sector and Probation. The Youth Justice Board oversaw the work of the Partnership. The ages that were covered were 10-18 and the numbers were small approximately 100. The data in the Plan showed the number of people who entered the Justice System for the first time and also tracked re-offending. HMI Probation provided a report in January 2023 and Buckinghamshire received a rating of good. Some areas for improvement had been identified such as Restoration, Repatriation and helping people to get on the right path was the first aim. The second aim related to ethnic disproportionality which needed to be addressed looking at areas of depravation. The third aim was a Government initiative called Child First, having greater involvement with young people and engaging them in questions about how life was for them and understanding the reasons for their life choices.

The Leader reported that it was concerning to see the rise in the re-offending rate which had risen to 30% since January 2021. The Corporate Director explained that whilst a large proportion reoffended (9 youth as compared to 6 the year before), there was a smaller cohort who offended at all (30 compared to 37). Therefore, the small numbers involved and the reduction in the overall cohort that offended, made the reoffending figure appear significant in percentage terms. The Corporate Director reported that all the recommendations from the Inspection had been incorporated into the Plan which included out of court disposals, which was prevention work. This year as the Partnership Board was in a stronger place a sponsor had been assigned to each of the recommendations. The funding for this was £1.7 million and as a Council funding was provided of £726,000 which was a significant amount.

Another Cabinet Member commented that prevention was key and asked about the overlap between this cohort and Looked After Children and if this had been brought to the attention of the Corporate Parenting Panel. Also whether Opportunity Bucks was involved for those areas of depravation. The Corporate Director commented that there were some Looked After Children in the Youth Justice System but as he was unable to provide the number at this meeting he would provide the information later, however there was alignment between the services and they worked in parallel around the child and the family. There was reference to Opportunity Bucks in the report and work was being undertaken to provide enhanced education and employment opportunities as part of this initiative. The last Board meeting included a full discussion about engagement in education and employment with an action plan. The Cabinet Member reported that it was not raised regularly at the Corporate Parenting Panel but this was something they would look at. Once a young person had offended they would go through an interview process with the Youth Offending Team and then they would have other challenging interviews. The young person must accept responsibility for an offence to be eligible for a court dispersal which would allow them to be outside of the court system and they could voluntarily have counselling or support from one of the organisations. The Cabinet Member reported that sometimes it might be difficult for them to volunteer if they did not have the support from their families.

A Cabinet Member referred to data on page 15 of the report and asked why it only covered three months whereas the other graphs covered one year. The data also was two years out of date and he asked about recent data which could provide information on current trends including reasons for current re-offending.  The Corporate Director described how the reporting periods in the Plan were dictated at national level by the Ministry of Justice who collated all the data across the Country and provided the statistics that were used within each area’s Youth Justice Plan. Current data was reported to every Youth Justice Board on a quarterly basis which was analysed for performance trends and also looked at in detail for each child.

A Deputy Cabinet Member referred to the mentoring which took place from Year 6 to 7 and the transition to secondary school and asked whether there was an opportunity for mentoring to continue over a longer period of time if necessary. The Corporate Director confirmed that mentoring was continued depending on the needs of the individual. Youth workers in schools undertook diversionary and preventative work and supported intervention.  Another Member commented that mentoring was important in local communities and particularly referred to ethnic disproportionality. He commented that he had mentored a young person.

A Cabinet Member who also had 3 Opportunity Bucks wards under his Community Board area commented that he would like to work with the Service as the report referred to creating new projects which shared the objectives of the Opportunity Bucks Programme. The Cabinet Member reported that it was important to understand why people were offending in the first place and then re-offending. It was important to liaise with various communities and organisations to understand this, particularly schools. The Corporate Director could link the Cabinet Member with the relevant contacts for Opportunity Bucks. 

RESOLVED –

That the Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2023-24 be endorsed, and it be forwarded to Council who be recommended to adopt it.