Councils approve Dorset YOTs merger

Bournemouth Borough Council, Dorset County Council and Poole Borough Council have approved plans for a single YOT to cover the three areas, merging Dorset’s YOT with Bournemouth’s and Poole’s youth offending services.

A report by Bournemouth County Council states that the three local authorities engaged in a number of “pan-Dorset approaches” over the past few years, citing financial pressures as the driving force behind the decision.

Despite the need to save money, it states that “the quality of outcomes for young people is critical and this will not be compromised by any option put forward”.

In June last year, a CYP Now survey of YOT managers found that a number of YOTs were planning to merge in response to cuts to services.

Since then, budget pressures have forced YOTs to reconsider the way they provide services and how they are structured.

In addition to mergers, which have seen the creation of the west London tri-borough partnership, YOTs are also seeking other options to deal with the financial pressures such as privatisation and collaboration.

In April last year, the four local authorities that made up Wessex YOT – Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton – decided to separate and run their youth offending services individually.