Agenda item

The Carmarthenshire Youth Justice Plan for 2022/23 was presented to the Committee. 

Consideration was given to the governance, leadership and partnership arrangements which had culminated in the development of the Youth Justice Plan, set out at Appendix 1 to the report, in accordance with the legislative requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The Youth Justice Plan outlined the provision of the Youth Support Service and the Youth Justice Team under a single management structure which provided a holistic approach to the delivery of youth support services across Carmarthenshire.  The Committee’s attention was referred to section 8 of the Youth Justice Plan which detailed the performance of the partnership during 2021/22 and also set out the priorities and improvement planning objectives for the forthcoming year in accordance with the overarching ‘child first’ principles and an ethos of continuous improvement.

The Committee acknowledged the crucial work of the partnership in seeking to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in order to safeguard the most vulnerable and complex children and families across the County.  Furthermore, it was noted that several strategic groups had been established to address emerging demands linked to the well-being of vulnerable children and adults.

The issues/observations raised by the Committee were addressed as follows:

The Committee commended the ongoing dedication and commitment of staff working within the Youth Justice Team in working with children and young people during the unprecedented challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

It was clarified to the Committee that the ‘Bureau system’ within the County was an out of court diversion scheme delivered in partnership between the Authority and Police and was designed to deliver interventions at an early stage to divert children and young people from the court.

In response to a query raised, it was explained to members that the graphical representation set out at page 19 of the Youth Justice Plan pertaining to ‘offence type’ had been condensed and would therefore be re-issued to the Committee with the full information.  An assurance was also given to the Committee that future reports would contain a comprehensive glossary to explain the full list of abbreviations, and keys would be provided to enable readers to easily interpret the graphical representations.

A question was put forth regarding challenges that were anticipated in meeting the extensive priorities and objectives that had been set for the Youth Justice Team for 2022/23.  It was explained to the Committee that the priorities were strategically aligned with national expectations and in accordance with key performance indicator reporting requirements.  It was emphasised that ambitious targets had been set to enable the Youth Justice Team to strive to deliver meaningful change for children and young people within the county. Reference was also made to the efforts made to promote participation and positive engagement across Youth Justice work going forward, and this focus would be supported and strengthened with the implementation of a strategy.

In response to a query, the Committee was assured to note the array of mechanisms by way of partnership working to address the exploitation of children regarding county lines and gangs, and the connections with the supply of drugs and serious violence. 

Following a query in respect of funding for the delivery of services, the Youth Support Service Principal Manager was pleased to report that the funding contribution to the Youth Justice Team would increase by £20k for 2022/23, and further grant allocations in respect of prevention initiatives and early interventions would enable the team to maintain a stable staffing structure.

Reference was made priority area 8 which related to the delivery of services in Welsh.  The Youth Support Service Principal Manager detailed the recruitment and training initiatives to ensure that the delivery of services in Welsh was maintained and strengthened where possible.

Reference was made to the performance measure pertaining to Mental Health, whereby the Youth Support Service Principal Manager provided background information on the reporting methodology and confirmed that she was confident that access to mental health services had been timely and effective during the reporting period.

In response to concerns raised by a Member, the Youth Support Service Principal Manager clarified to the Committee that due to the complexity of a small cohort of re-offenders, the annual weighted average could fluctuate considerably.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Carmarthenshire Youth Justice Plan for 2022/23 be received.