§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to combat youth offending; and if he will make a statement. [132938]
§ Ms BlearsOn 8 September we published "Youth Justice—The Next Steps", consulting on how to take further our youth justice reform programme for England and Wales. A copy has been placed in the Library. The document sets out changes we would like to make over the next few years in the way young offenders are dealt with. It includes proposals to:
- Strengthen parenting interventions
- Improve understanding of trials and trial preparation
- Manage juvenile remandees better in the community
- Establish a simpler sentencing structure with more flexible interventions
- Provide intensive supervision and surveillance as the main response to repeat and serious offending while still having custody available
- Introduce a more graduated progression between secure, open and community facilities
- Improve youth justice skills and organisation: and
- Invites views on how pre-court interventions can be developed further.
Consultation ends on 1 December and we encourage anyone with an interest in these issues to let us have their views on whether the proposals represent the best way forward.
582WThese proposals complement the wide programme of work put forward in "Every Child Matters", published on the same date by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. This consults in particular on how to help children achieve their full potential and how to tackle the risks of adverse outcomes including offending which some face in their early lives. The paper consults on ways to strengthen the work of the services which deal with children.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) police authority and (b) Crown Prosecution Service region fast tracking cases involved persistent youth offenders in the last year for which figures are available. [133053]
§ Ms BlearsFigures on the time taken from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders are collected by Criminal Justice Area. Nationally, the number of persistent young offender cases dealt with over the last year for which figures are available, was:
Persistent young offender cases 2002 August 2,065 September 2,041 October 2,341 November 2,120 December 1,675 2003 January 2,316 February 2,164 March 2,123 April 2,144 May 2,109 June 2,111 July 2,503 Total 25,712