Youth Justice Board review will not maintain status quo

The running of the public body is currently under the spotlight after the government announced a review of its operating arrangements in September.

It has been claimed that the review, ordered by the Ministry of Justice, could be part of a plan to prevent the Conservatives breaking up the agency should they come to power at the next general election.

However, Dame Sue Street, independent co-chair of the review, said she will look at "anything and everything". "I am not known for sticking to my remit," she told delegates at the YJB annual convention in Southport.

"If it is seen as a status quo preserving exercise, I don't want to lead it and ministers of any complexion won't want to follow it."

As well as probing how the YJB is led, the review will assess the management of major projects the commissioning of custodial places.

Street, a former permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is co-chairing the review alongside YJB chair Frances Done.