Agenda item

To provide members with an update on the Youth Justice Service.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Graham Hinchey (Cabinet Member for Children and Families), Graham Robb (Independent Chair of the Youth Justice Board), Sarah McGill (Corporate Director, People and Communities), Deborah Driffield (Director, Children’s Services) and Angharad Thomas (Operational Manager, Youth Justice Services) to the meeting.

Councillor Hinchey was invited to make a statement, during which he referred to the decline in first time entrants and the progress being made.

Graham Robb was invited to make a statement, during which he explained that the first indications of the impact of improvement work were becoming apparent. He outlined the need for caution about the reductions referred to by Councillor Hinchey and stressed the need for sustained improvement. Substantial challenges remain in performance, delivery and impact on children’s lives.

Angharad Thomas updated Members on the progress being made and referred to the case study submitted in the papers.

Members were asked to comment or raise questions on the information received.  Those discussions are summarised as follows:

·         Members sought clarification from Officers on the key successes they wished to highlight and the principal challenges the service is facing.  Members were advised that the first-time entrant work indicated that young people were being prevented from entering the youth justice system. The focus on partners and getting better pathways for young people had contributed to this. The Youth Justice Board had referenced the shared direction of travel with partners as significant. There will be a challenge in evidencing the impact on some of the most challenging children. It will be possible to make a difference for some but not all, and the latter will remain in the justice system. It is important to keep working to improve outcomes even if the result is delayed. There has been considerable progress in partnership work. The details have been received of a joint strategic needs assessment which allows for the interrogation of over-representation in the youth justice system of particular communities. There is important work being done for the first time about Additional Learning Needs of children in the youth justice system. This is a result of collaborative working.

·         Members sought clarification as to whether the increased instances of violence against the person referred to in the Q1 Children’s Services Report were among the challenging cases referenced above. Members were advised that there had been an increase in all categories of violence affecting young people in the last quarter. Some of the children involved might present the highest number of issues but some might not. Violence might be a key indicator of serious issues as might repeat offending. A child that is entering the justice system for the first time might present the highest risk. A key message going forward is how to work with Early Help, Safe and other strategies to ensure upstream prevention is in place.

·         Members sought clarification on the impact on the capacity of the service of staff sickness absence and vacancies. Members were advised that are 3 managers in place including 2 agency who are covering until the restructuring is complete. Below the management level, 2 of the staff who are off sick are from the intensive support service. The workload has been spread across the service which corresponds to the intention that work should be shared across the service and high risk cases are not concentrated on one worker. Case planning processes draw on the strength of the whole team. There is no impact on young people from reduced capacity. The caseload has reduced due to the closure of cases and tightening up of criteria. There has been an impact on supervisions due to staff sickness, Covid, and a change in management. Staff are being encouraged to undertake peer support, group supervisions and regular check-ins.

·         Members were advised that interviews had taken place for new management posts.

·         Members were advised that a large proportion of staff sickness absence was due to actions being taken under HR policies and procedures to bring people to account. Members were further advised that problems with supervision were in some cases a legacy issue related to a lack of supervisions performed by managers.

·         Members were advised that a victim engagement feedback survey was being undertaken which was innovative and rare. The numbers of participants was still low because it was a new survey. The survey demonstrated a commitment to getting the views of victims on the services being provided.

·         Members were interested in knowing whether the relaxation of Covid restrictions had led to staff finding it easier to engage with young people. Members were advised that the relaxation of restrictions was welcomed. There was awareness of the importance of maintaining the restrictions that were still in place. People had been engaged throughout with the use of WhatsApp and Chromebooks which allow Teams conversations, as well as socially distanced bicycle rides and walks. Staff are not yet able to bring young people into the office as they would like, but are seeing young people in school. Going forward a hybrid model will be used.

RESOLVED:

That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations during the way forward.