Agenda item

The Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture submitted a report for Executive’s consideration.

The report was for Executive’s attention and noting and would seek approval of Full Council in accordance with Regulation 4 of the ‘Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000’.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) had issued a framework which Youth Justice Services must use when designing their plans which was detailed in the YJB document, “Youth Justice Plans: guidance for youth justice services.” This would assist the YJB to gather the information and data contained within the plan to support their oversight of services, offering more consistency of structure and content. This document allowed for the Youth Justice Service to present the plan covering all key areas of the work of the service, affording the Youth Justice Service the opportunity to highlight achievements over the past year, challenges faced by the service in the delivery of services and to offer the scope for new priorities for the coming year.

Youth Justice Services Management Boards should govern and own the process of producing the local youth justice plan; it was their opportunity to collectively shape the direction of the delivery of youth justice so that it best met the needs of the locality, children, families, victims and communities. Opportunities for wider participation, significantly where children and their families can themselves shape and influence the delivery of your service, are also strongly encouraged. South Tees Youth Justice Service Management Board had overseen the production of this plan and approved its content. The plan would be governed by the South Tees Youth Justice Service Management Board which met on a quarterly basis. The South Tees Youth Justice Board Regional Advisor was a member of the South Tees Youth Justice Service Management Board and therefore had oversight of the progress against priority areas.

NOTED

OPTIONS

Do nothing. The Youth Justice Plan was a legally required strategic document as set down by Section 40 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and by National Standards for Youth Justice. Not having a plan would result in the Youth Justice Board withholding all of the grant and therefore this was not a viable option.

Service priorities for 2024/25 were carefully considered by key stakeholders, staff and partners and had been included in the current document. There were no other priorities put forward for consideration. The council could be assured that progress against priorities are monitored by the STYJS Management Board on a quarterly basis as is progress of the delivery plan. 

REASONS

In preparing this Youth Justice Plan a comprehensive consultation process was entered into and this included consultation with staff, partners, and young people. The purpose of the consultation was to share the plans and service priorities, as proposed by the South Tees Youth Justice Service management team and to secure the views of staff and partners on these proposals. This consultation ensured that all key stakeholders had a voice in the plan, and the actions detailed in this plan are owned by all.

The Youth Justice Board required approval of the document as part of the grant terms and conditions. Failure to approve this plan would result in the council not fulfilling its statutory obligations and the service not receiving funds from the YJB to provide a statutory service.