Meeting documents

Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee
Wednesday, 11 December 2002

SH111202-10

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ITEM SH10

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EXECUTIVE - 26 NOVEMBER 2002

YOUTH JUSTICE PLAN

Report by the Head of the Youth Offending Service

Introduction

  1. The annual Youth Justice Plan is one of the strategic plans which are subject to approval by full Council following consideration by both the Executive and relevant Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in the Constitution. The Executive is asked to authorise arrangements for the drawing up and submission to the Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee for comment of initial proposals for the new Plan.

    2. Youth Justice Plan

  2. The Youth Justice Plan is required to be submitted to the Youth Justice Board by 31 March 2003. Preparation of the Plan is the responsibility of the Youth Offending Team (YOT). This is a statutory partnership established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, made up of the County Council (including Social & Health Care and Education representatives), Thames Valley Police, the National Probation Service and the National Health Service (via the Oxford City Primary Care Trust). In addition non-statutory partners are the Prison Service and Thames Valley Magistrates Courts Service.

  3. The Plan will primarily address 13 Performance Measures relating to YOT activity in the calendar year 2002. For this reason it cannot be finalised until the year's data can be analysed. The YOT has a sound information system, YOIS, which is able to produce the relevant reports no later than the end of January 2003, to allow the detail to be completed and the Plan consulted upon within the defined timescale.

  4. The Youth Justice Board indicated earlier in the year that it would be issuing a template for the new Youth Justice Plan, which was itself different from that relating to the previous year. It has just done so - in the week beginning 11 November 2002 - issuing alongside it a revised 'Counting Rules' document of 80 pages which defines what has to be included statistically. Much of this relates to recidivism and is highly complex.

  5. It is clearly therefore not possible to submit to this meeting of the Executive a draft Youth Justice Plan, and authority is sought for arrangements which will enable an outline to be prepared for consideration by the Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee on 11 December 2002. The deadlines require that the Scrutiny Committee’s comments be reported back to the Executive on 7 January so that a recommendation can be made to the 14 January Council meeting, although it will still be necessary to add much of the statistical detail later, with a view to the Plan being "signed off" by all the YOT partners before the 31 March deadline.

    6. RECOMMENDATION

  6. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to authorise the Head of the Youth Offending Service, in consultation with the Executive Members for Children & Young People and Community Safety, to draw up initial proposals within the constraints identified in the report for submission to the Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee for comment.

MIKE SIMM
Head of the Youth Offending Service

Background Papers: Nil

Contact officer: Mike Simm Tel. (01865) 202218

November 2002

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