Devolution of custody costs could change YJB role

The Howard League for Penal Reform's report To Devolve or Not to Devolve?, examines whether local authorities should be made financially responsible for children in custody, looking at the arguments both for and against.

It found that should custody budgets be devolved to local authorities, the YJB may no longer have a role to play regarding the central commissioning and purchasing of places.

This could lead to it becoming a "national body of excellence", enforcing standards in a similar way to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.

Overall the report found that while local authorities should have a lead role in tackling youth crime, questions over funding are only one aspect of a larger issue and there is no guarantee that devolving costs would result in an improved youth justice system.

Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Frances Crook, said: "While there are perverse financial incentives in the current system which should be addressed, we fear that focussing on the devolution of custodial budgets in search of a ‘magic bullet' solution masks the real problems of policy, law and attitudes that contribute far more to a dysfunctional and failing youth justice system."