Agenda item

For Members to receive an update on progress in relation to the Youth Justice Service

The Chair welcomed Councillor Ash Lister (Cabinet Member for Social Services (Children’s)), Graham Robb (Independent Chair of the Youth Justice Board), Deborah Driffield (Director of Children’s Services) and Sarah McGill (Corporate Director, People and Communities) to the meeting.

Councillor Lister was invited to make a statement in which he referred to the improvements made within the service to de-escalate the service from Stage 3 to Stage 1. The most recent inspection has showed that the Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a very different service.

Graham Robb provided a statement in which he too welcomed Emily to the Committee, bearing in mind that one of the key issues of the last months has been to ensure the voice of children and young people informs the strategy.

There were technical difficulties with the audio in relation to the remarks made to the Committee by Graham Robb who was attending the meeting remotely.

The Director of Children’s Services outlined some of the points made by Graham due to the technical difficulties.  There is now a management structure within the service that is providing confidence in terms of working with children and young people; there have also been a number of attempts at a quality assurance framework, that will be going to the Board in the near future; and the Sub-Committee is now also working effectively.  One of the things that needs further work is the Partnerships to ensure that children and young people, who are most at risk in the community, have easy access to health and all the other services that are needed.

The Chair invited questions from Members:

Members sought some insight and reassurance in relation to the ongoing challenges the service has to face, in particular in terms of capacity and court disposals which remain inadequate at the moment.  The Director advised that there has been a commitment that the Operational Manager will only be focusing on the YJS and the number of managers has been increased as the inspection highlighted that the spans of control in terms of good and robust supervision were too broad.  The Director confirmed that there are no problems in recruiting to that service. 

Members asked about the partnership working with health; the particular challenges; whether the service was getting the input it needs; and whether there was anything the Committee could do to help.  The Director advised that Mental Health is a significant issue and that in terms of a partnership approach that is working, the general health person brings to the table an understanding of how children and young people get into where they need to within the health service.  However, further consideration needs to be given as to whether there needs to be a person who is more tied in with the CAMHS service involved.

Graham Robb advised that briefings for staff are happening over the next 3 or 4 months to ensure that the right data is being collected to identify that children are accessing the right health services to address their needs.

The information provided by Graham Robb in respect of court disposals was unclear because of the connectivity issues.

Members asked about the liaison between the Board and UK Government – probably the Ministry of Justice or the Home Office.  It was explained that there were various forums going in Wales which then link into to Central Government. There are also links with the Justice Board for England and Wales which is an arms length body. There are various routes through which concerns can be raised directly with the Youth Justice Board or the Ministry of Justice when we feel that there are issues that need to be addressed,  an example of which is the ongoing discussions about increasing the number of key performance indicators that we are subjected to and whether or not those being proposed are effective.

Members queried the increase in offending during Quarter, the reasons behind it and the action being taken.  Bearing in mind the technical difficulties being experienced by Graham Robb the answer would be provided in writing.

Members asked whether there had been any engagement with One Million Mentors and were advised that certainly work was being done with St Giles Trust, Cardiff Football Club and various others, and that enquiries would be made about One Million Mentors.

Members discussed the partnership with education, in particular in relation to the Student Support Unit and reduced timetables and whether mainstream schools are taking responsibility for the students even though a significant proportion of their timetabled week is elsewhere. Members were advised that it is an area that needs improvement; there has to be an understanding of the detail, for example what does it mean when a child has an alternative timetable, how many does that mean and within those hours what do they actually do.  Education colleagues are involved in that journey and are helping to ensure that those children and young people have got the appropriate level of education and support.  The Corporate Director advised that the scene has been set for will be a very significant piece of work pulling together the services that need to wrap around our adolescent young people, particular when there has been an increase demand.  There has to be a corporate approach as to how those services provided going forward. The YJS is part of that wider picture.

Members sought information in respect of the statistics provide in relation to the proportion of Black or Black British young people coming into contact with the service and the discussions taking place with the police about that feature of the statistics.  The Corporate Director explained that currently information is being analysed that has come through from the 2021 census.  The population base of young people in Cardiff significantly differs from the population overall; it is anticipated that the most recent data from that census will probably tell us something different from what has been identified in the report. An understanding of the detail coming forward is crucial to aid the discussions in solving the problem together.  Members were advised that in certain communities in Cardiff,  the YJS have already started working with the Police and members of the community.  It is being led by the members of the community who have felt that they have not been able to or have been struggling to support their young people.

Members referred to the figures in relation to the number of young people aged between 10 and 14 coming into contact with YJS and queried whether it was a trend. The Director advised that unless children have been convicted of a crime they do not have to work the YJS but with the involvement of the early help services work can be done with them at a much earlier age undertaking preventative work.

Members queried the increase in referrals leading to assessment made to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) in March and May of this year; the Director advised that that she did not have information about the specific referrals; sometimes it is about something happening in one particular community so it could be just  a small number of children involved but individual referrals have to be made for each child. 

Members asked whether those officers present felt supported by Senior Leadership; whether there has been engagement from the Public Services Board; and whether they could offer any further support with those partnerships – in health or the Police to ensure they worked well. The Committee were advised that the new Chair of the Cardiff and Vale Health Board has joined the Advocacy Board and  she has attended her first meeting.  The Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Executive is there.  It is a very high level advocacy group who are genuinely interested in trying to make a difference not just for this cohort of young people but also to see how the connections can be made more broadly.

RESOLVED:

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