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ITEM EX13

SOCIAL & HEALTH CARE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - 13 MARCH 2003

THE YOUTH JUSTICE PLAN 2002 – 2005 (2003 – 2004 UPDATE)

A Report by the Head of the Youth Offending Service

1. Youth Offending Teams were established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Oxfordshire YOT came into being in October 1999, 6 months in advance of the legislative requirement. It was granted Pathway status by the Youth Justice Board and received over £2 million to finance a range of development initiatives over the first two and half years of its existence. This funding ended in March 2002.
2. Youth Offending Teams are responsible for the provision of all youth justice services and bring together staff from the County Council, National Probation Service, Thames Valley Police and Health. The current staffing establishment is 80 which includes secondees from

• Social and Health Care
• Thames Valley Police
• Learning and Culture
• Youth Service
• Oxfordshire Mental Health Trust
• National Probation Service

3. The aims of the Youth Offending Team are:

• Reduce the Likelihood of offending of Children & Young People
• Prevent Re-Offending by Children & Young People who enter the criminal justice system
• Help young people repair the damage they have caused by taking into consideration the effect of their crime on victims
• Reintegrate offenders into the wider law abiding community
• Contribute to the protection of the public by supporting local crime reduction strategies
• Encourage young people and their families to take responsibility for their offending behaviour

4. In 2002, the YOT worked with 1042 young offenders, from intervention programmes for Final Warnings right through to work with those in custody for grave crimes.

- 399 Final Warnings - 347 Referral Orders - 44 Reparation Orders - 58 Action Plan Orders - 110 Supervision Orders - 26 Supervision Order ISSPs - 5 Community Rehabilitation Orders

- 1 CRO ISSP - 16 Community Punishment Orders - 10 Combination Orders - 4 Curfew Orders - 40 Detention & Training Orders - 2 Section 91s

5. The responsibility for ensuring that the YOT fulfils its legal responsibilities and for the management of its performance, lies with a multi-agency steering, on which all key agencies are represented at a senior level.

NAME	AGENCY REPRESENTED	POST HELD IN AGENCY
Chair: Phil Hodgson	Social & Health Care	Head of C&F Services
Gillian Tee	Education	Actng Dep. Chief Education Offcr
David McWhirter	Thames Valley Police	Area Commander
Will Partridge	Banbury Magistrates Court	Deputy Clerk to the Justices
Bruce McLaren	Strategy Directorate	Social Policy Manager
Elaine Jones	Huntercombe HMYOI	Governor
Tim Paul	Treasurers	Financial Manager
Mary Faux	Probation	Assistant Chief Officer
Jackie Wilderspin	Primary Care Trust	Snr Public Health Officer
Elizabeth Shepherd	Mental Health Trust	Service Director

YOT Budget

6. The YOT Budget (Table 27 of the Youth Justice Plan) comprises an Oxfordshire County Council budget, cash and in kind contributions from Police, Probation and Health, in kind contribution from Huntercombe Young Offenders Institution and specific and general grants from the Youth Justice Board and other government agencies.
7. The budget is managed by the Head of the Youth Offending Service in accordance with Financial Regulation. Monthly budget monitoring statements are produced by Treasury Services for the general budget and each specific grant. Appropriate management action is taken by the Head of the Youth Offending Service to control any potential overspends.
8. All general and specific grants are audited by the Audit Commission each year. The audit checks that all expenditure charged against a grant funded project is appropriate and that contributions in kind and cash contributions from agencies are as approved in the contract with the Youth Justice Board or other grant funding agency, (some of which have further budget controls).

The Youth Justice Plan

9. Legislation requires that a Youth Justice Plan be submitted to the Youth Justice Board annually. This is written to the format dictated by the YJB.
10. In March 2002, a three year Strategic Plan, underpinned by very extensive data was submitted and received approval. The attached Plan (download as .doc file) is an update to a revised template, for 2003/2004.
11. The YOT has to submit quarterly returns to the YJB, which detail all its activity, both in relation to required Performance Indicators and many other factors. These are combined to produce Annual Returns, which have been attached as appendices to previous Youth Justice Plans. The YJB has discontinued this practice as a component of the Plan itself but will use the data to produce comparative performance tables for the first time in 2003.
12. All data in the Plan refers to the calendar year 2002. Because Performance Measure 2 depends upon checks against the Police National Computer for recidivism information on a cohort of 227 young offenders. This has not yet been completed but will be in advance of the submission date of 31^st March 2003.

The Performance Measures

13. The Youth Justice Plan addresses 13 Performance Measures. Some (Measures 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10) are focused upon process and the rest (Measures 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13) on outcomes.
14. Generally the evidence in the Plan is that outcome performance has been satisfactory or better with a significant reduction in the number of offenders in target crimes and a reduction in the use of custody both suggesting that the YOT s having a positive impact. The YOT has done less well in relation to process measures. This was anticipated, as the Steering group has recognised on the basis of a multi-agency zero based budget exercise that the YOT was significantly under-resourced for its care activities. Recent budget decisions should allow for improvements in this core staffing that should be reflected in timely completion of the various processes measured in the relevant PIs.

Approval of the Plan

15. Before submission to the Youth Justice Board, the Plan has to receive the approval of the various agencies responsible for the YOT. The signatures of the relevant Chief Officers are required in Section A.
16. The Youth Justice Board has indicated that so long as the Plan is submitted to the deadline formal approval by the Council on 1^st April 2003 will be satisfactory

MICHAEL SIMM
Head of Youth Offending Services

Background papers Nil

Contact Officer: Michael Simm Tel: (01865) 202218

March 2003

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