Michael Gove's MoJ cuts could see more children jailed, warns Youth Justice Board
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Version 0 of 1. Levels of teenage crime and numbers of children behind bars could increase because of the Government’s austerity measures, the Youth Justice Board has warned ministers. The board has warned the Ministry of Justice that a planned deep cut in its budget this year would have dire consequences for efforts to tackle rates of offending among the under-18s. The risks are spelt out in a letter by the board’s chief executive, Lin Hinnigan, which has been obtained by The Independent. She said the YJB, which oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales, has lost more than half its budget since 2010 and disclosed she had protested to Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, over the prospect of further cuts. Ms Hinnigan warned youth offending teams, which are run by local councils and involve police and probation services, but are funded by the YJB, that their budgets are set to be slashed from £85m to £73m. In a letter to teams across the country she said she had warned Mr Gove that further savings would be “detrimental” to efforts to steer teenage offenders from a life of crime. “This could lead to a reversal of the positive trends we have seen over recent years,” she wrote. “This would see more young people coming into the system, rising costs for police, courts and other justice agencies and, ultimately, risk increasing custodial populations, which would mean new places in secure establishments must be commissioned.” She said: “We have urged the Secretary of State not to look to the YJS for further significant cuts.” In a trend at odds with the adult prison population, the number of teenagers who are locked up has fallen steadily in recent years. It stands at just under 1,000, a third of the total a decade ago. Ministers argue that youth offending teams have more money per offender as they are dealing with far fewer and insist there is no evidence that further cuts will lead to an increase in crime rates. But David Simmonds, Deputy Chairman of the Local Government Association, said the teams were recognised to be the most successful part of the criminal justice system, working closely with young people to prevent first-time offenders and reduce the overall numbers in custody. “Youth offending teams are at the heart of the youth justice system, working tirelessly and successfully to keep young people and their communities safe from crime,” he said. “A further £12m in-year reduction to youth offending team budgets, 14 per cent of their overall government grant, will clearly have an impact upon their ability to undertake this preventative work and improve life chances of vulnerable children.” The Ministry of Justice’s budget fell by around £800m during the last parliament and Mr Gove has been told to find a further £249m in savings this year, much of which is likely to come from delaying capital projects and underspending on legal aid. It is also one of the “unprotected” Whitehall departments which have been instructed by Chancellor George Osborne to identify potential savings of 25 per cent and 40 per cent between 2016 and 2020. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We must find savings in order to cut the deficit and bring the nation into surplus. No part of the department can be immune from that effort. “In recent years, youth offending teams have seen a 92 per cent increase in funding per head as a result of our success in driving down youth offending. It is therefore right to ask whether they can make a further contribution. “We remain committed to preventing youth offending and making sure young people and their families receive the support they need.” |